Phasor analysis for nonlinear pump-probe microscopy

Pump-probe microscopy provides molecular information by probing transient, excited state dynamic properties of pigmented samples. Analysis of the transient response is typically conducted using principal component analysis or multi-exponential fitting, however these methods are not always practical or feasible. Here, we show an adaptation of phasor analysis to provide an intuitive, robust, and efficient method for analyzing and displaying pump-probe images, thereby alleviating some of the challenges associated with differentiating multiple pigments. A theoretical treatment is given to understand how the complex transient signals map onto the phasor plot. Analyses of cutaneous and ocular pigmented tissue samples, as well as historical pigments in art demonstrate the utility of this approach. ©2012 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: (100.0100) Image processing; (180.4315) Nonlinear microscopy; (300.6420) Spectroscopy, nonlinear; (190.7110) Ultrafast nonlinear optics; (170.3880) Medical and biological imaging.