University of Colorado

Robert H Cormack

Victor M Bright

Juliet T Gopinath

Carol Jean Cogswell

Mo Zohrabi

Omkar D Supekar

Emily A Gibson

W Thomas Cathey, Jr

Wei Yang Lim

Simeng Chen

Jian Xing

Ramzi N Zahreddine

Connor McCullough

Juin-Yann Yu

The present disclosure relates generally to methods and systems useful in imaging applications, especially biological imaging applications, and applications in the metrology, atmospheric, scientific and medical fields. In one aspect, the disclosure provides a method of imaging an object, including illuminating the object with incident radiation through one or more adaptive optical elements; receiving transmitted radiation from the object at a photodetector to provide a base image; and performing the following steps one or more times: adjusting the one or more adaptive optical elements, the adjustment including modifying an optical transfer function of the one or more adaptive optical elements, and receiving transmitted radiation from the object at the photodetector to provide an adjusted image; wherein the adjustment and receiving steps are performed until the adjusted image has substantially reduced aberrations compared to the base image.

Methods and systems for imaging with aberration correction

A tunable optical electrowetting element having a liquid-liquid interface shape controlled by an applied voltage. Circuitry for applying a voltage to the electrowetting element is configured to apply a shaped voltage signal comprising a first fast-rising signal combined with a second fast-rising signal. The second signal is selected to damp oscillations in the liquid-liquid interface caused by the first signal.

Enhanced response time of tunable optical electrowetting elements with shaped input voltage functions

Wide-angle beam steering using two or more variable lenses to form a small-angle beam steering element, along with a numerical aperture converter and a wide-angle lens. The small-angle beam steering element might comprise either one- or two-dimensional beam steering with tunable liquid lenses.

Wide-angle beam steering

Apparatus and methods for super-resolution imaging of extended objects utilize a scanned illumination source with a small spot size. Sub-images composed of highly-overlapping point spread functions are captured and each sub-image is iteratively compared to a series of brightness combinations of template point spread functions in a dictionary. The dictionary is composed of highly-overlapping point spread functions. Each sub-image is associated with a best-match template combination solution, and the best-match reconstructions created by best-match solutions are combined into a super-resolution image of the object.

Super-resolution imaging of extended objects

Scanned illumination allows for capturing 3-dimensional information about an object. A conventional reflection (or transmission) bright field (or fluorescence, darkfield, polarizing, phase contrast or interference) microscope is configured to use laterally scanned illumination (for example by moving an array in front of the light source) to scan an extended object. A pixelated detector may capture a series of images at the exit pupil of a microscope objective, and this series of images may be processed to form a Light Field image of the object. Or, a microscope is configured to provide scanned illumination to an extended object, while applying extended depth of field and 3D depth localization encoding to the resulting set of images. Thus multiple encoded images are generated. These images are decoded and combined, with custom digital signal processing algorithms, to form a 3D volume rendering or animation. Each point in the specimen is illuminated separately from its neighbors, and records its distinct PSF signature without any ambiguity arising from adjacent points on the object.

Scanning imaging for encoded PSF identification and light field imaging

Apparatus and methods to increase the depth of field in human vision in order to correct for loss in refocusing ability. Optics variations, such as changes in thickness, shape, or index of refraction of contact lenses, intraocular implants, or the shape of the cornea or eye lens, affect the phase, or wavefront, of the light perceived by the eye. The optics variations are chosen such that the resulting optical transfer function remains relatively constant over a desired range of object distances and pupil diameters.

Extended depth field optics with variable pupil diameter

Optical systems utilize waveplates to simultaneously encode information for increasing image depth of field and for providing a depth map of the imaged object or sample. These waveplates are configured to result in a focus-invariant point spread function in one focal region, and to result in point spread functions that vary as a function of range within the imaged object in a different focal region. For example, a basic compound microscope might have a specially shaped waveplate inserted at the back aperture plane of the microscope objective to manipulate the phase of the wavefront. An image formed on one side of the plane of best focus is focus invariant, and is brought into focus by a restoring algorithm. An image formed on the other side of the plane of best focus captures point spread functions comprising rings that vary with depth within the imaged object.

Growing community of inventors

Erie, CO, United States of America

Robert H Cormack