Open-source Tools for CryoET Particle Picking Machine Learning Competitions

Abstract

We are launching a machine learning (ML) competition focused on particle picking in cryo-electron tomography (cryoET) data, a crucial task in structural biology. To support this, we have created a comprehensive suite of open-source tools to develop resources for our competition, including copick for dataset management, napari plugins for interactive visualization, utilities for converting particle picks to segmentation masks, and PyTorch tools for custom dataset sampling. These resources streamline the processes of data handling, labeling, and visualization, allowing participants to focus on model development. By leveraging these tools, competitors will be better equipped to tackle the unique challenges of cryoET data and push forward advancements in particle picking techniques.