Comparison of serial and parallel RGB image capture in color Fourier ptychographic microscopy

Abstract

To achieve high-resolution colored pictures in a microscopy setup, we employ Fourier ptychographic microscopy (FPM). This method reconstructs high-resolution images from multiple low-resolution images by computationally updating the Fourier spectrum from varying illumination angles. In this study, we compared the performance of FPM on two image-capturing techniques: serial and parallel. Serial image capture acquires mono8 images by illuminating the sample with red, green, and blue LEDs separately, while parallel simultaneously acquires color images using a white light source and a color camera. By the analysis of the line spread functions (LSFs), a higher resolution is achieved for serial image capturing than the parallel technique. One possible reason is the uncentered illumination due to the displacement of the LED and the unfocused images due to the wavelength variation. Higher-quality images of a blood smear sample were reconstructed for both setups, showing great potential for biomedical imaging.