Backscattered phase contrast microscopy for non-invasive blood analysis (Invited Paper)

Conventional phase microscopy techniques require transmission illumination. We present two microscopy designs that work in a back-illumination configuration, producing high-speed, high-resolution contrast of phase objects in unlabeled thick specimens. These techniques encode lateral or axial phase gradients as intensity differences at the image sensor plane, enabling high-contrast imaging of transparent features. Results from in-vivo blood cell and ex-vivo pathology specimens will be presented.