Using SmartVectors™ Technology

Since image warping is the very important core technology of Delta2D, significant efforts have been spent to further accelerate it and ease its use. As a result, with the SmartVectors Technology match maps can be derived for a pair of gel images automatically.
Continuing Delta2D's tradition, the user keeps control through the lean user interface and handy tools to interact with the algorithms where necessary.

With the SmartVectors™ Technology you will:

be able to reduce the overall analysis time dramatically
avoid the need of tedious manual corrections of guessed spot matches
avoid downstream surprises by keeping control over the whole process

Because of the good combination of automatic work and user checking this approach is much more productive compared to alternative approaches. Essentially, you just check a region if it is well warped if not, let Delta2D use present correspondences to find better matching in that region.

Check the warp mode

For using the SmartVectors Technology, the warp tool has to be enabled.
SmartVectors Technology is available with two warp modes:

Exact Warp
Automatic Warp

For details about warp modes please review the manual, where you can also read about the different warp strategies.

Creating match vectors with the SmartVectors Technology

Press the button Find Match Vectors and Delta2D will automatically analyse the gel image pair for corresponding patterns and then display the resulting match map.

You can use Find Match Vectors at any time, independent of how many match vectors already exist, since the SmartVectors Technology does not change existing approved match vectors. Good approved match vectors help Delta2D to find additional match vectors and improve the warping, while bad approved match vectors mislead Delta2D since they form erroneous constraints and therefore should be removed.

Improving the warping

You have two options to improve the warping: one is to add match vectors manually, the other is to ask Delta2D again to find match vectors.
You can also add a match vector manually and then let Delta2D try to find improved match vectors.
When pressing Find Match Vectors once again, you will be asked what to do with the remaining non-approved match vectors: approve or delete them all.

With this infrastructure you have two alternatives for working with match vectors:

Delete the match vectors that you do not want to include in the matchmap and let Delta2D automatically approve the non-approved match vectors.
Manually approve the match vectors to include them in the matchmap and let Delta2D automatically delete the remaining non-approved match vectors.

It is up to you to decide for the option that fits best to your working manner.

Selecting match vectors

You can select match vectors individually: left-click it.

Alternatively, you can select match vectors by dragging a rectangle with the mouse keeping the left mouse button pressed.

Per right mouse click you have access to the available actions delete, approve (explained below), or adjust (snap the match vector to its closest spots).

Approving and deleting match vectors

Delta2D presents match vectors only if they seem plausible. However, for enabling you to control the process, the vectors come with the non-approved status and are highlighted in the dual view.
Delta2D needs the distinction between approved (ie manually defined or reviewed) and non-approved (ie automatically proposed, but not manually reviewed) match vectors, since that allows for seperating them from the previously defined match vectors.

Manually defined match vectors are always approved, since by definition you had an eye on it.
If you identify match vectors you prefer not to use, simply select and delete them. Vice versa, if you like to keep a good match vector, select and approve it.

Setting match vectors by hand

As mentioned above, you can use the SmartVectors™ Technology in combination with manually defined match vectors.
Manually defined match vectors are always approved, so you will not loose them when deleting non-approved match vectors.
To speed up the definition of manually defined match vectors, enable the Snap Match Vectors to Spots option in Delta2D's preferences, tab Matches.