Patent ID: 7561756

Claim:
A method of estimating 3D shapes of a batch of particles that has been imaged with an imaging device, said method being performed using a computer and comprising the steps of: (a) measuring a 2D size of each of the particles from a 2D image of the particles that has been obtained with the imaging device; (b) determining 2D shapes of the particles from the 2D image; (c) associating each of the particles to one or more 3D shapes; (d) counting the number of particles estimated to have a first of the 2D shapes that are associated with a first of the 3D shapes; (e) counting the number of particles estimated to have a second of the 2D shapes that are associated with the first of the 3D shapes; (f) counting the number of particles estimated to have the second of the 2D shapes that are associated with a second of the 3D shapes, (g) counting the number of particles estimated to have a third of the 2D shapes that are associated with the first of the 3D shapes; (h) counting the number of particles estimated to have the third of the 2D shapes that are associated with the second of the 3D shapes; (i) counting the number of particles estimated to have the third of the 2D shapes that are associated with a third of the 3D shapes; (j) estimating the number of atoms in each particle counted based on its measured 2D size and its associated 3D shape; (j) estimating the 3D shapes based on the number of particles counted in step (d), the number of particles counted in step (e), the number of particles counted in step (f), the number of particles counted in step (g), the number of particles counted in step (h), the number of particles counted in step (i), and the estimated numbers of atoms.