Timelapse Processor

meta plugin to ease processing timelapse image data

  • Johannes Soltwedel

License BSD-3 PyPI Python Version tests codecov napari hub

meta plugin to ease processing timelapse image data

API

This plugin exposes two principal funcionalities:

TimelapseConverter

The TimelapseConverter class allows you to stack or unstack any of the supported napari layers from 4D data into a list of 3D layers or vice versa. Currently supported layers are:

  • napari.layers.Image
  • napari.layers.Labels
  • napari.layers.Points
  • napari.layers.Vectors
  • napari.layers.Surface

napari.layers.Tracks are intrinsically 4D and thus not supported.

Unstacking example usage:

from napari_timelapse_processor import TimelapseConverter
import numpy as np

image_4d = np.random.rand(10, 32, 32, 32)  # 10 timepoints of 32x32x32 data
converter = TimelapseConverter()
list_of_images = converter.unstack(image_4d, layertype='napari.types.ImageData')

Stacking example usage:

from napari_timelapse_processor import TimelapseConverter
import numpy as np

random_points = [np.random.rand(10, 3)  for _ in range(10)]  # 10 timepoints of 10 random 3D points
converter = TimelapseConverter()

# stack the points into a single 4D layer
stacked_points = converter.stack(random_points, layertype='napari.types.PointsData')

The TimeLapseConverter class also supports (un)stacking the napari.layers.Layer type (and its above-listed subclasses). Importantly, features that are associated with the respective layer are also (un)stacked.

Layer example usage

from napari_timelapse_processor import TimelapseConverter
import numpy as np
from napari.layers import Points
import pandas as pd

random_points = [np.random.rand(10, 3)  for _ in range(10)]  # 10 timepoints of 10 random 3D points
random_features = [pd.DataFrame(np.random.rand(10)) for _ in range(10)]  # 10 timepoints of 10 random feature values

# create a list of 10 Points layers
points = [Points(random_points[i], properties=random_features[i]) for i in range(10)]

converter = TimelapseConverter()
stacked_points = converter.stack(points, layertype='napari.layers.Points')

frame_by_frame

The frame-by-frame functionality provides a decorator that will inspect the decorated function for TimelapseConverter-compatible arguments and, if a 4D value is passed as argument, will automatically (un)stack the data before and after the function call. This allows for a more intuitive API when working with timelapse data. Currently supported type annotations are:

  • napari.types.ImageData
  • napari.types.LabelsData
  • napari.types.PointsData
  • napari.types.VectorsData
  • napari.types.SurfaceData
  • napari.layers.Layer
  • napari.layers.Image
  • napari.layers.Labels
  • napari.layers.Points
  • napari.layers.Vectors
  • napari.layers.Surface

Additionally, the frame_by_frame supports parallelization with dask.distributed. To use it, simply pass the use_dask=True argument to the decorated function, even if the function itself does not require this argument. The decorater will then automatically parallelize the function call over the time-axis and remove the use_dask argument when calling the function.

Example interactive code usage: If you want to use the frame_by_frame functionality in, say, a Jupyter notebook, use it like this:

from napari_timelapse_processor import frame_by_frame
import numpy as np

def my_function(image: 'napari.types.ImageData') -> 'napari.types.ImageData':
    return 2 * image

image_4d = np.random.rand(10, 32, 32, 32)  # 10 timepoints of 32x32x32 data

image_4d_processed = frame_by_frame(my_function)(image_4d)  # without dask
image_4d_processed = frame_by_frame(my_function)(image_4d, use_dask=True)  # with dask

Example napari code If you want to use the frame_by_frame functionality in a napari plugin, use it like this:

from napari_timelapse_processor import frame_by_frame

@frame_by_frame
def my_function(image: 'napari.types.ImageData') -> 'napari.types.ImageData':
    return 2 * image

Hint: The frame_by_frame functionality runs under the assumption that input napari-data (e.g., an Image, a Surface, Points, etc) are always arguments and any other parameters are always keyword arguments. If this is not the case, the decorator will not work as intended.

# This works
frame_by_frame(my_function)(image_4d, some_parameter=2, use_dask=True)

# This does not work
frame_by_frame(my_function)(image=image_4d, some_parameter=2, use_dask=True)

This napari plugin was generated with Cookiecutter using @napari's cookiecutter-napari-plugin template.

Installation

You can install napari-timelapse-processor via pip:

pip install napari-timelapse-processor

Contributing

Contributions are very welcome. Tests can be run with tox, please ensure the coverage at least stays the same before you submit a pull request.

License

Distributed under the terms of the BSD-3 license, "napari-timelapse-processor" is free and open source software

Issues

If you encounter any problems, please [file an issue] along with a detailed description.

Version:

  • 0.1.1

Last updated:

  • 2025-06-16

First released:

  • 2024-07-15

License:

  • Copyright (c) 2024, Johannes S...

Supported data:

  • Information not submitted

Plugin type:

Open extension:

Save extension:

Python versions supported:

Operating system:

  • Information not submitted

Requirements:

  • numpy
  • tqdm
  • napari
  • dask
  • distributed
  • tox; extra == "testing"
  • pytest; extra == "testing"
  • pytest-cov; extra == "testing"
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