Digital holographic microscopy and related image processing techniques are described. A hologram captured in an image frame is split into different depths while a new hologram is being captured. Image slices of the hologram are determined and using free space impulse responses that are pre-calculated at a different precision than processing operations using the holographic data. Each computation is calculated in parallel based on the number of available processing cores and threads. The image slices are combined into a 2D array or 3D array to permit further processing of the combined array to count and size particles in the image frame. The reconstructed hologram is displayed at a subsequent image frame than that used to capture the hologram.

An optical scanning holography system includes a polarization-sensitive lens configured to receive a linearly polarized beam and generate a first spherical wave of right-handed circular polarized light having a negative focal length and a second spherical wave of left-handed circular polarized light having a positive focal length, a first polarizer configured to pass only a beam component therethrough in a predetermined polarization direction among components of the generated first and second spherical waves, a scanning unit configured to scan an object by using an interference beam generated between the first and second spherical waves passing through the first polarizer, and a first photodetector configured to detect a beam reflected from the object.

When the optical system is illuminated with an illumination light flux emitted from one extant input image point, an interference image generated by superimposing an extant output light flux output from the optical system and a reference light flux coherent with the extant output light flux is imaged to acquire interference image data, and thus to acquire measured phase distribution, and this acquisition operation is applied to each extant input image point. Thus, each measured phase distribution is expanded by expanding functions n(u, v) having coordinates (u, v) on a phase defining plane as a variable to be represented as a sum with coefficients n{Ajn.Math.n(u, v)}. When the optical system is illuminated with a virtual illumination light flux, a phase (u, v) of a virtual output light flux is determined by performing interpolation calculation based on coordinates of a virtual light emitting point.

The present disclosure provides improved systems and methods for automated cell identification/classification. More particularly, the present disclosure provides advantageous systems and methods for automated cell identification/classification using shearing interferometry with a digital holographic microscope. The present disclosure provides for a compact, low-cost, and field-portable 3D printed system for automatic cell identification/classification using a common path shearing interferometry with digital holographic microscopy. This system has demonstrated good results for sickle cell disease identification with human blood cells. The present disclosure provides that a robust, low cost cell identification/classification system based on shearing interferometry can be used for accurate cell identification. For example, by combining both the static features of the cell along with information on the cell motility, classification can be performed to determine the type of cell present in addition to the state of the cell (e.g., diseased vs. healthy).

According to one embodiment, a beam splitter splits light into first light and second light. The second light is used to irradiate a sample containing particles. A first imaging device images a first interference pattern formed by multiplexing third light, which has been generated by irradiating the particles with the second light, and the first light. A second imaging device images a second interference pattern formed by the third light. An arithmetic device compares a composite image with a calculated image. The composite image is created by using a first interference image picked up by the first imaging device and a second interference image picked up by the second imaging device. The calculated image is obtained by combining single particle interference images, each of which is expected to be obtained by the first imaging device in a case where a particle is present alone in the sample.

Provided are on-axis and off-axis digital hologram generating device and method.

The on-axis and off-axis digital hologram generating device includes an object phase generator configured to access a phase file of an object stored in a storage device and generate object phase information from the phase file of the object; a digital object light generator configured to generate digital object light information based on a light property of object light input by a user and the object phase information generated by the object phase generator; a digital reference light generator configured to generate digital reference light information based on a light property of reference light input by the user; and a digital hologram generator configured to generate a digital hologram based on hologram property information input by the user, the digital object light information generated by the digital object light generator, and the digital reference light information generated by the digital reference light generator.

An apparatus which analyses a depth of a holographic image is provided. The apparatus includes an acquisition unit that acquires a hologram, a restoration unit that restores a three-dimensional holographic image by irradiating the hologram with a light source, an image sensing unit that senses a depth information image of the restored holographic image, and an analysis display unit that analyzes a depth quality of the holographic image, based on the sensed depth information image, and the image sensing unit uses a lensless type of photosensor.

A device for extracting at least one object characteristic of an object (106) is presented, the device comprising: a light sensor (101) for recording a hologram of an object and a processing unit (102) coupled to the light sensor and configured for extracting at least one object characteristic from the hologram; wherein the processing unit is configured for extracting the at least one object characteristic from a section of the hologram without reconstructing an image representation of the object. Further, a device (200) for sorting an object (106), a method for identifying an object and a method for sorting objects is presented.

A method of imaging a sample having birefringent crystals (or other materials) using a lens-free polarized microscopy device includes illuminating the sample contained on a sample holder with circularly polarized partially coherent or coherent light and capturing lower resolution holographic images of the birefringent crystals with an image sensor. A polarization analyzer unit made from a /4 retarder and a linear polarizer is positioned between the sample holder and the image sensor. The lower resolution holographic images are obtained with the polarization analyzer unit in two different orientations (e.g. 90 orientations). Phase-retrieved, higher resolution images of the birefringent crystals at the different orientations are obtained using the lower resolution holographic images. A differential image is generated from the respective phase-retrieved, higher resolution images. An object support mask is applied to identify the birefringent crystals which can then be pseudo-colored.

An apparatus and method to produce a hologram of a cross-section of an object includes an electromagnetic radiation assembly configured to receive a received electromagnetic radiation, such as light, from the object. The electromagnetic radiation assembly is further configured to diffract the received electromagnetic radiation and transmit a diffracted electromagnetic radiation. An image capture assembly is configured to capture an image of the diffracted electromagnetic radiation and produce the hologram of the cross-section of the object from the captured image. The hologram of the cross-section includes information regarding a single cross-section of the object.