Light-field Camera - Light-field Microscope

Light-field Microscope

Stanford University Computer Graphics Laboratory has developed a light-field microscope using a microlens array similar to the one used in the light-field camera developed by the lab. The prototype is built around a Nikon Eclipse transmitted light microscope/wide-field fluorescence microscope and standard CCD cameras. Light-field capturing ability is obtained by a module containing a microlens array and other optical components placed in the light path between the objective lens and camera, with the final multifocused image rendered using deconvolution. A later version of the prototype added a light-field illumination system consisting of a video projector (allowing computational control of illumination) and a second microlens array in the illumination light path of the microscope. The addition of a light-field illumination system both allowed for additional types of illumination (such as oblique illumination and quasi-dark-field) and correction for optical aberrations.