Acquiring Large Field-of-View Optical Super-Resolution Images Using Adaptive As-Natural-As-Possible (AANAP) Image Stitching Method

Optical super resolution (OSR) is a technique that enhances the spatial resolution of images beyond the diffraction limit of the imaging system. OSR images can provide more details and information compared with conventional optical microscopes that are limited by the diffraction limit of light and thus have a best spatial resolution of about 200 nm. Moreover, the trade-off between magnification and field of view (FOV) hinders capturing large-scale structures and fine details simultaneously. Therefore, novel microscopy techniques that can overcome these limitations and provide high-resolution and large-FOV images of biological samples need to be developed. In this paper, a new method combining microsphere-based optical microscopic super-resolution imaging system and the image stitching method are proposed to improve the resolution and FOV conventional optical microscopy. First, the technique captures multiple images through the microsphere at different positions by moving the samples. Then, the technique stitches together the images using a registration algorithm to form a high-resolution, wide-field image. This technique can overcome the diffraction limit of optical microscopy and achieve sub wavelength resolution with a large FOV. It can be used in various fields of science and engineering, such as cell imaging, tissue imaging, and disease diagnosis. © 2023 IEEE.