Protocol for supervised automation of cell counting in confocal microscopic mice cochlear imaging datasets using macro in Imaris

Analyzing confocal microscopic data using Imaris is time-consuming and prone to human error. We present a supervised automation protocol to reduce manual input for cell and spot counting in confocal images of mouse cochlear sections. The protocol includes installing Imaris; preparing confocal images for Imaris; applying the image recognition tool in Macro Scheduler to create surfaces, masks, and spots; and using batch processing to analyze groups of images efficiently. This approach improves accuracy, reproducibility, and customization for research needs.