Perfecting Images for Biomed and Life Science Applications

Recording a live cell or medical process is often just one step in obtaining useful or actionable biomedical data. Ensuring the camera has the right image settings and providing the correct post-processing is also an important step.

Imaging Modes for Life Sciences

FLIR machine vision cameras feature a variety of image performance control options, including specialized imaging modes made for low light or fluorescence-based applications.

Color Correction Matrix:

Auto gain, auto exposure and auto white balance are commonly used to manage imaging performance of cameras; however, the FLIR Color Correction Matrix (CCM) is a unique feature that helps users manage RGB image colorization to achieve realistic color reproduction in various lighting conditions. This feature provides users the flexibility with several pre-set lighting conditions and a manual override to fully customize every parameter – ensuring the most accurate and consistent colors for medical and biotech applications.

Color Space:

While every sensor has a specific response to different lighting conditions (e.g. sunlight vs. fluorescent light), reproducing accurate colors is particularly important for applications such as pathology and cancer diagnostics, where even a minor difference can affect accuracy and reliability of results. The FLIR Blackfly S uses CCM transformations that correct the output image to sRGB color space: the most used color space because it provides the “best guess” for how a monitor reproduces color.

Displaying vs. Computing Images:

The quality of an image for display for human eyes versus an image meant for computer processing poses a unique set of challenges for all cameras. For instance, an image that needs to be displayed on a monitor with an 8-bit contrast mode requires a very different quality from one that will be processed using high-bit-depth, scientific analytics-based algorithms. To solve this unique challenge, the FLIR Blackfly S and Oryx camera families come with a variety of imaging modes, including uncompressed RAW image standards, with select models supplying up to 12-bit digitization depth for Oryx, and even up to 14-bit for select Blackfly S models.

To learn more about FLIR machine vision camera options, visit our camera selection tool.