Reconstructed double-pulsed holograms: a system for efficient automated analysis

Double-pulsed holograms form the basis of holographic particle image velocimetry. This technique is becoming widely used for measuring three-dimensional velocity fields. The major deficiency of holographic particle image velocimetry is that the double-pulsed holograms must be painstakingly surveyed by a human observer for determination of the location of objects within the holographic volume. A system that automatically and efficiently analyzes double-pulsed holograms of microbubbles in water is developed that eliminates the need for a human surveyor. The system employs a three-part algorithm: (1) Holograms of microbubbles are scanned in the holographic (x-y) plane. Microbubbles within the scanned region are detected by a CCD-based fast object-detection system. (2) Bubble images thus detected are focused (in the z-direction) by an autofocusing technique. (3) In-focus bubble images are analyzed by a simple set of image-analysis techniques, including edge detection and patch correlation. The output of this algorithm is the size, and the displacement between the two laser pulses, of microbubbles in the water.