title: Optimal tracking of a Brownian particle.
abstract: Optical tracking of a fluorescent particle in solution faces fundamental constraints due to Brownian motion, diffraction, and photon shot noise. Background photons and imperfect tracking apparatus further degrade tracking precision. Here we use a model of particle motion to combine information from multiple time-points to improve the localization precision. We derive successive approximations that enable real-time particle tracking with well controlled tradeoffs between precision and computational cost. We present the theory in the context of feedback electrokinetic trapping, though the results apply to optical tracking of any particle subject to diffusion and drift. We use numerical simulations and experimental data to validate the algorithms' performance.
authors.affiliation: Center for Ultrasound Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics, University of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Alexander P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Fields
authors.forename: Adam E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D004058:Diffusion; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D015233:Models, Statistical; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D010316:Particle Size