Accurate fast quantitative phase imaging based on accelerative iterative transport of the intensity equation solution

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Biomedical Imaging
• Computational Imaging

Background:

• Quantitative Phase Imaging (QPI) is crucial for label-free biological sample analysis.
• The Transport of Intensity Equation (TIE) is a widely used QPI method but suffers from accuracy and applicability issues due to conventional solution algorithm limitations.
• Existing TIE solutions face challenges like 'phase discrepancy' and 'phase singularity'.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an accurate and fast QPI method by improving the Transport of Intensity Equation (TIE) solution.
• To overcome the limitations of conventional TIE algorithms, enhancing its applicability and speed.
• To provide a general TIE algorithm suitable for accurate, real-time QPI.

Main Methods:

• Developed an accelerated iteration-based TIE solution using a gradient acceleration iterative approach constructed by TIE itself.
• Implemented high-accuracy multi-plane intensity derivative estimation for improved initial iteration values.
• Validated the method through experiments on various phase objects, including phase plates and living cells.

Main Results:

• The accelerated TIE solution effectively bypasses 'phase discrepancy' and 'phase singularity' issues, achieving fast convergence.
• The method demonstrates significantly improved accuracy and noise robustness in phase reconstruction.
• Experimental results confirm the method's accuracy, wide applicability, and real-time measurement capabilities.

Conclusions:

• The proposed accelerated TIE solution offers a significant advancement in quantitative phase imaging.
• This method provides a fast, accurate, and broadly applicable QPI technique.
• The developed general TIE algorithm enables accurate and real-time phase imaging for diverse applications.