Israeli Researchers Develop a More Efficient Miniature Ultra-Spectral Camera

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers have developed a more efficient ultra-spectral imaging system that could provide faster, more accurate, higher quality imaging, according to a paper published in the prestigious Nature Scientific Reports.

BGU’s innovative miniature ultra-spectral imaging system (MUSI) can be used for bio-medicine, spectroscopic microscopy, optical bio-sensing, precise agriculture, fabrication process monitoring, and other fields that need compact, accurate and fast images with high spectral resolution.

“Our camera addresses increasing demand for miniaturized, high spectral and spatial resolution systems, ” says Prof. Ibrahim Abdulhalim of BGU,  “While most existing hyperspectral imaging systems are bulky, complicated and expensive, this camera—which requires only a tenth of the data traditionally needed to quickly produce high resolution images—is compact, simple to operate and cost-efficient.”

Spectroscopic imaging collects and processes information that can help isolate and identify “signature fingerprints” found in objects, chemical substances or material defects beyond human vision. While the human eye generally sees color in three bands of light (red, green and blue), spectral imaging divides images into many more bands to capture additional data across the electromagnetic spectrum.

The high resolution images created by this magnitude of information are particularly significant for many applications, including medical diagnosis, biological and environmental research, monitoring industrial fabrication processes, and remote sensing from airplanes or satellites.

The miniature ultra-spectral camera was developed in BGU’s Department of Electro-optical Engineering. It uses a single pixel liquid crystal device developed in the Liquid Crystals Devices and Nanophotonics Lab of Prof. Abdulhalim, along with a special compressive sensing system designed by Prof. Stern’s group.