Unified resolution bounds for conventional and stochastic localization fluorescence microscopy

Area of Science:

• Optical microscopy
• Image processing
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Superresolution microscopy achieves ~20 nm resolution, surpassing classical limits.
• Existing resolution concepts (e.g., modulation-transfer function) are inadequate for stochastic localization techniques.
• Previous bounds on localization accuracy applied only to sparse emitters and conventional microscopy.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce a unified physical measure of resolution for all optical microscopy techniques.
• Define the information transfer function (ITF) to bound imaging accuracy across spatial frequencies.
• Provide a framework to analyze imaging performance based on emitter density and photon counts.

Main Methods:

• Developed the information transfer function (ITF) as a novel measure of resolution.
• Analyzed the ITF's relationship to classical modulation-transfer functions.
• Modeled imaging performance across a continuum from conventional to superresolution microscopy.

Main Results:

• The ITF provides physical limits for both conventional and stochastic localization microscopy.
• For conventional microscopy, ITF is proportional to the square of the modulation-transfer function.
• ITF quantifies the impact of emitter density and photon counts on imaging performance without sparsity assumptions.

Conclusions:

• The information transfer function offers a unified physical description of resolution in optical microscopy.
• This framework aids in optimizing experimental parameters and designing image reconstruction algorithms.
• Facilitates improved imaging performance across diverse microscopy techniques.