Reconstruction method for extended depth-of-field optical diffraction tomography

In the paper we present a novel method of extended depth-of-field limited-angle optical diffraction tomography, in which the change of a focal plane position is performed with a liquid focus-tunable lens. One sinogram is acquired for each state of a focus-tunable lens. After acquisition process is complete, all sinograms are independently reconstructed and stitched to form the final tomographic reconstruction. The presented solution effectively extends the applicability of the Rytov approximation to relatively thick samples and provides uniform resolution of 3D tomographic reconstructions. The method is also combined with Generalized Total Variation Iterative Constraint algorithm, which minimizes distortion of the results due to the limited angular range of acquired projections. The combined solution is dedicated to investigation of transparent and semi-transparent biological micro-structures, like cells and tissue slices.