Noninterferometric single-shot quantitative phase microscopy

We present a noninterferometric single-shot quantitative phase microscopy technique with the use of the transport of intensity equation (TIE). The optical configuration is based on a Michelson-like architecture attached to a non-modified inverted transmission bright field microscope. Two laterally separated images from different focal planes can be obtained simultaneously by a single camera exposure, enabling the TIE phase recovery to be performed at frame rates that are only camera limited. Precise measurement of a microlens array validates the principle and demonstrates the accuracy of the method. Investigations of chemical-induced apoptosis and the phagocytosis process of macrophages are then presented, suggesting that the method developed can provide promising applications in the dynamic study of cellular processes. (C) 2013 Optical Society of America