Fourier Ptychographic Aberration Correction in Incoherent Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Imaging systems with incoherent light, such as fluorescence microscopy, suffer from spatially varying aberrations across the field of view, leading to poor image resolution and the need for raster scanning to capture well-resolved images.
Innovation Solution
The ACIS method employs Fourier ptychographic techniques to acquire a sequence of coherent and incoherent images, using a variable coherent illumination source to characterize spatially varying aberrations. This method reconstructs high-resolution images by implementing an embedded pupil function recovery process to estimate the pupil function and deconvolve aberrations from the incoherent images.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If multiple lenses are combined to compensate for aberrations, then image resolution is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/optical approach of using multiple lenses to correct aberrations with a computational approach. By capturing images at multiple focal depths and processing them through image fusion algorithms, the system achieves aberration correction without adding physical lens elements, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining or improving image resolution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces the depth dimension by capturing images at multiple focal depths (z-stack imaging). This additional dimensional information is then processed through computational algorithms to reconstruct images with corrected aberrations, transforming a 2D imaging problem into a 3D computational problem that can be solved algorithmically rather than through complex optical design.
2Manufacturing precision
If raster scanning is used to capture well-resolved images across the field of view, then image resolution is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary capture of the entire field of view at multiple focal depths simultaneously using a wide-field objective. This preliminary data collection eliminates the need for sequential raster scanning, as all necessary information is gathered in parallel before computational processing begins, significantly improving imaging speed while maintaining resolution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple images captured at different focal depths into a single composite image that contains information from the entire field of view. By combining these pre-captured images through computational fusion rather than sequential scanning, the system achieves both high resolution and improved productivity by capturing all spatial information simultaneously.
3Manufacturing precision
If the center region is kept and portions away from center are discarded, then image resolution is improved, but area of field of view decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the depth dimension (multiple focal planes) to compensate for the loss of lateral field of view. By capturing and processing images at multiple z-positions, the system can reconstruct high-resolution information across the entire lateral field of view from the stacked data, effectively recovering peripheral regions that would otherwise be discarded.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary capture of the entire field of view at multiple depths before any selection or discarding occurs. This comprehensive preliminary data collection ensures that information from all regions including the periphery is captured with sufficient quality, allowing computational processing to later extract high-resolution information from the entire field rather than just the center.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The ACIS method effectively corrects for spatially varying aberrations in incoherent imaging systems, enabling high-resolution, aberration-corrected fluorescence imaging across a wide field of view without the need for raster scanning.
Implementation Method 1
acquiring a sequence of coherent images of a specimen while coherent plane wave illumination from different angles is sequentially provided incident the specimen
Implementation Method 2
the optical system includes an objective lens, a tube lens, and an image sensor. The objective lens is configured to receive light issued from the specimen
Implementation Method 3
the optical system includes an emission filter while the excitation light source provides a first band of wavelengths to the specimen, the emission filter for passing the first set of fluorescence emissions and blocking other wavelengths
Implementation Method 4
the excitation light source configured to provide excitation light to the specimen to activate fluorophores in the specimen to emit light
Implementation Method 5
removing the aberration from the acquired incoherent image using a deconvolution process to generate an aberration-corrected incoherent image
Data Source
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AI summary
Aberration-corrected incoherent imaging methods and systems that can acquire a sequence of coherent images and an incoherent image of a specimen, implement an embedded pupil function recovery process in junction with Fourier ptychographic technique to construct an improved resolution image and pupil function of the imaging system using the sequence of coherent images, determine an optical transfer function based on the estimated pupil function, and remove the aberration from the incoherent image using a deconvolution process to generate an aberration-corrected incoherent image.