Blind deconvolution of fluorescence micrographs by maximum-likelihood estimation.

We report some recent algorithmic refinements and the resulting simulated and real image reconstructions of fluorescence micrographs by using a blind-deconvolution algorithm based on maximum likelihood estimation. Blind-deconvolution methods encompass those that do not require either calibrated or theoretical predetermination of the point-spread function (PSF). Instead, a blind deconvolution reconstructs the PSF concurrently with deblurring of the image data. Two-dimensional computer simulations give some definitive evidence of the integrity of the reconstructions of both the fluorescence concentration and the PSF. A reconstructed image and a reconstructed PSF from a two-dimensional fluorescent data set show that the blind version of the algorithm produces images that are comparable with those previously produced by a precursory nonblind version of the algorithm. They furthermore show a remarkable similarity, albeit not perfectly identical, with a PSF measurement taken for the same data set, provided by Agard and colleagues. A reconstructed image of a three-dimensional confocal data set shows a substantial axial smear removal. There is currently an existing trade-off in using the blind deconvolution in that it converges at a slightly slower rate than the nonblind approach. Future research, of course, will address this present limitation.