SMeagol will help you optimize your experimental set-ups and make sure that there is no bias in your data analysis.

The software creates realistic synthetic microscopy images by combining reaction diffusion simulations with simulations of the fluorophore photophyscis and the photophysics of the optical system. SMeagol will be presented in more detail in an upcoming issue of Bioinformatics.

(Left) Bright field image of a bacterial cell with simulated “true” locations of the molecules to be imaged and tracked. (Middle) Experimental background noise. (Right) Simulation of how the data might look like given the experimental parameters.

Download SMeagol from Sourceforge.