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Abstract

Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is a grampositive bacterium that is responsible for diseases such as, otitis media, conjunctivitis, bacterial keratitis, pneumonia, and meningitis. Bacterial keratitis is one of the most common after-effects of trauma to the eye. Some reports have shown the S. pneumoniae spreads through enzymes that are produced to digest the cornea, which in turn can causes blindness. There is a need for more improved measures that can reverse the detrimental effects of the bacteria. The long-term goal of this research is to better understand the complete role of S. pneumoniae and its components in bacterial keratitis to develop next generation therapies to prevent blindness. The purpose of this study is to develop alternative measures to evaluate damage associated with keratitis infection by use of computer applications. Methods: This study analyzed images of the established Keratitis pneumococcal mouse model. The eye images of mice 7-8-week-old and 9-month-old were collected. Additional images were taken on post-infection days one, three, five, and nine, revealing the progression of the infection. Results: The ImageJ Application provided more in depth review to determine the detrimental effects of S. pneumoniae. Through the software, a “Color Threshold” was created on every image to emphasize the area of damage caused by the bacteria. A scatter plot of every image created a map of the particles, and the diameter created a scale demonstrating the impact of keratitis. Data revealed that the most significant increase in infection occurs between Day 1 and 3 post-infection. Conclusions: The study has created a computer model to establish a baseline for the infection process of S. pneumoniae in the traditional mouse model. ImageJ has proven to be a useful tool to analyze the impact of disease on the murine model. Results from this study also provide evidence of the importance of early intervention in ocular disease.

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