A multiple target approach for single quantum dot tracking

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are nanometer-sized fluorescent particles with a great promise for advanced biological imaging. They have recently been shown to be very favorable probes for ultrasensitive detection. When specifically attached to a biomolecule of interest, they allow for single molecule tracking in live cells over unprecedented durations and open new prospects for the study of cellular dynamics. We present an algorithm for automatically detecting and tracking QDs in sequences of fluorescence images. It accounts for the blinking in the fluorescence signal of individual QDs assuming brownian dynamics of the biomolecules. Our algorithm analyzes images sequentially and can be extended to a real-time use.