1. A method for assessing the impact of anomalies comprising the steps of: retrieving an image of a physical device; obtaining a design layout of said image; and registering said image of said physical device and said design layout of said image in a common frame of reference, wherein said step of registering said image of said physical device and said design layout of said image in said common frame of reference comprises the steps of: vectorizing said image of said physical device into closed polygons; matching polygons in said image with polygons in said design layout; and aligning said image with said design layout of said image using said matched polygons.