High-Resolution Imaging of Particles and Plankton

The LISST-Holo2 uses digital holography to capture holograms of particles and plankton in water without disturbing the sample. Processing of the hologram (known as reconstruction) in the LISST-Holo2 software (included) results in three-dimensional images of the particles. Unlike traditional particle counters that infer size from optical signals, the LISST-Holo2 outputs actual images that can be used to identify particle shape, morphology, and biological content. Also, unlike cameras that have a narrow Field-of-View, holographic imaging allows for the reconstruction of the Field-of-View after the image has been taken. This means all particles in the image can be brought into focus.

LISST-Holo2

From each image the LISST-Holo2 software derives particle size, shape, concentration, and spatial distribution (the x,y,z location of the particle). This imaging capability provides insight into particle structure that cannot be obtained through bulk scattering methods alone.

Typical customers include marine research institutions, biological oceanographers, and biogeochemists. Applications include suspended particles and floc characterization across diverse aquatic environments, plankton community monitoring, blooms and carbon-export process studies, and assess particles associated with dredging, mining, contaminants and microplastics. Increasingly applications incorporate user-developed automated image processing and machine learning, calibration tools, autonomous platforms and sustained environmental monitoring.