Interactive Multifunctional Confocal Image Analysis

三维共聚焦显微镜是一种广泛应用于小样本光学分析的成像方法，应用于生命科学、材料科学和信息技术等众多领域。目前的系统主要集中在专门的单峰分析，其目标是样品拓扑的测量，化学标记分子的位置，或化学成分的无标记分析，仅举几例。然而，单模信息的解释与专家解释密切相关，因为许多共聚焦成像技术有过多的参数影响检测到的信号。尽管仅在极少数例外情况下进行了调查，多功能或多模态共聚焦分析具有提供更广泛的信息基础和稳定解释歧义的巨大潜力。在这个项目中，我们开发了一个由共聚焦拉曼显微光谱（CRM）和空间分辨瞬态吸收技术（微分共聚焦吸收显微镜，dCAM）组成的组合装置，并结合了一个有效和高效的可视化分析工具，用于获得的多维数据集。多模态数据的复杂性要求在实验以及数据分析和可视化方面采用新颖的科学方法。在第一个项目阶段，我们可以完成dCAM模式到我们的CRM显微镜系统的技术集成。对新系统的评估显示了一个意想不到的强而稳定的dCAM信号，其三维空间分辨率接近理论最小值。在分析方面，我们完成了第一个能够对单模CRM数据集进行在线可视化分析的系统。在第二个项目阶段，项目的实验部分将把时间分辨dCAM测量集成到CRM中，以便在适当选择的光电材料和器件上同时探索电荷载流子、温度动力学和化学或晶体微观结构。计划将dCAM升级为傅里叶域dCAM （fddCAM）将使我们能够重建光激活衰变机制的全时间轨迹。同时，数据分析和可视化部分将进一步扩展，以便从多模态数据集中提取相关信息，并允许对不同效果之间的复杂关系进行交互式可视化分析。这需要分层数据管理、用户引导和不确定性可视化的新技术。除了在常见分析问题的背景下进行密切合作外，我们还将进行一些用户研究，以评估所提出的可视化和分析数据探索方法的可用性和有效性。

3D confocal microscopy is a widely used imaging method for optical analysis of small specimens, applied in numerous fields including life sciences, material science and information technology. Current systems mainly focus on specialized monomodal analysis which target either the measurement of the sample topology, the location of chemically labeled molecules, or the label-free analysis of chemical composition, to name a few. However, the interpretation of monomodal information is strongly bound to experts interpretation, as many of the confocal imaging techniques have a plethora of parameters influencing the detected signals. Even though investigated only in a very few exceptional cases, multifunctional or multimodal confocal analysis has a huge potential to provide a broader information basis and to stabilize interpretation ambiguities. In this project, we develop a combined setup consisting of a confocal Raman microspectroscopy (CRM) and a spatially resolved transient absorption technique (differential Confocal Absorption microscopy, dCAM) in conjunction with an effective and efficient visual analysis tool for the obtained multidimensional data sets. The complexity of the multimodal data requires novel scientific approaches for both, the experimental as well as for the data analysis and visualization perspective. In the first project phase we could accomplish the technical integration of the dCAM modality into our CRM microscopy system. The evaluation of the new system revealed an unexpectedly strong and stable dCAM signal with a 3D spatial resolution close to the theoretic minimum. One the analysis side, we accomplished a first system capable of performing an online visual analysis of monomodal CRM data sets.In the second project phase, the experimental part of the project will integrate time resolved dCAM measurements into CRM in order to explore simultaneously charge carrier, temperature dynamics and the chemical or crystalline microstructure on an adequate choice of optoelectronic materials and devices. The planned upgrade of the dCAM to a fourier-domain dCAM (fddCAM) will enable us to reconstruct the full time trace of the photo activated decay mechanisms. In parallel, the data analysis and visualization part will be further extended in order to extract the relevant information from the multimodal data sets and to allows for interactive visual analysis of the complex relations between different effect. This requires new techniques for hierarchical data management, user guidance and uncertainty visualization. Besides an intense collaboration in the context of common analysis questions, we will conduct several user studies in order to evaluate the usability and effectivity of the proposed methods for visual and analytical data exploration.