title: Transport-of-intensity approach to differential interference contrast (TI-DIC) microscopy for quantitative phase imaging.
abstract: Differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy is an inherently qualitative phase-imaging technique. What is obtained is an image with mixed phase-gradient and amplitude information rather than a true linear mapping of actual optical path length (OPL) differences. Here we investigate an approach that combines the transport-of-intensity equation (TIE) with DIC microscopy, thus improving direct visual observation. There is little hardware modification and the computation is noniterative. Numerically solving for the propagation of light in a series of through-focus DIC images allows linear phase information in a single slice to be completely determined and restored from DIC intensity values.
authors.affiliation: Optical Bioimaging Laboratory, Division of Bioengineering, National University of Singapore, 7 Engineering Drive 1,Singapore 117576, Singapore. s.kou@nus.edu.sg
authors.forename: Shan Shan
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kou
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Waller
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barbastathis
authors.forename: Colin J R
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Sheppard
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002610:Cheek / Q000473:pathology; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D016014:Linear Models; D008264:Macrophages / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008857:Microscopy, Interference / Q000379:methods*; D008858:Microscopy, Phase-Contrast / Q000379:methods*; D015233:Models, Statistical; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012984:Software