Victoria, Australia-based IATIA Ltd., in conjunction with the University of Melbourne, has commercialized a versatile and highly cost-effective way to dramatically enhance the capabilities of conventional light microscopes. Quantitative Phase Microscopy (QPm) enables a standard bright field microscope to perform tasks usually handled by several different, specialized instruments.
QPm is the brainchild of University of Melbourne physics professor Keith Nugent, whose proprietary algorithm based on the Transport of Intensity equation1 processes amplitude and phase data from a sample. This technology provides independent digital acquisition of both quantitative phase and amplitude (intensity) information. The result is a set of "virtual" images that previously required several different instruments to obtain. For example, researchers can obtain differential interface contrast, dark field, Zernike phase contrast, and Hoffman modulation visualizations from a standard bright field instrument. In short, QPm allows researchers to expand analytical capabilities with relatively modest resource and personnel allocations....
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