Image coding and compression of confocal microscope volumetric 3D images

Confocal microscopy allows for 3D volumetric image acquisition and in many cases simultaneous 3D multi-mode image acquisition, where each image voxel encompasses multiple values representing the output from the different imaging (contrast) modes (i.e. intensity, phase, polarisation etc.) of the confocal microscope. The amount of the acquired data is therefore increased significantly, making essential the employment of data reduction techniques. In this paper the authors present techniques and preliminary results for 3D volumetric image compression that allow for reduced image compression storage requirements, improved transmission and more efficient browsing through large amounts of stored data