Patent ID: 6075883
Filing Date: 2000-06-13
Classification: G01N,G02B,G06T

Abstract:
A method for imaging an object comprising the steps of:a) illuminating at least a portion of the object with light transmitted by a light source;b) detecting light reflected from the object at a first preselected position;c) forming a bright-field image of the illuminated portion of the object as a function of the light detected in step b);d) simultaneously with step b), detecting light reflected from the object at a second position;e) forming a dark-field image of the illuminated portion of the object as a function of the light detected in step d);f) determining the entropy of a first portion of the bright-field image corresponding to a first portion of the object;g) determining the entropy of a first portion of the dark-field image corresponding to the first portion of the object;h) selecting either the first portion of the bright-field image or the first portion of the dark-field image as a function of the bright-field entropy and the dark-field entropy;i) determining the entropy of a second portion of the bright-field image corresponding to a second portion of the object;j) determining the entropy of a second portion of the dark-field image corresponding to the second portion of the object;k) selecting either the second portion of the bright-field image or the second portion of the dark-field image as a function of the bright-field entropy and the dark-field entropy; andl) combining the selected first portion and the selected second portion to form a composite image.