The present invention provides a method and apparatus for improving the signal
to noise ratio, the contrast and the resolution in images recorded using an optical
imaging system which produces a spatially resolved image. The method is based on
the incorporation of a polarimeter into the setup and polarization calculations
to produce better images. After calculating the spatially resolved Mueller matrix
of a sample, images for incident light with different states of polarization were
reconstructed. In a shorter method, only a polarization generator is used and the
first row of the Mueller matrix is calculated. In each method, both the best and
the worst images were computed. In both reflection and transmission microscope
and Macroscope and ophthalmoscope modes, the best images are better than any of
the original images recorded. In contrast, the worst images are poorer. This technique
is useful in different fields such as confocal microscopy, Macroscopy and retinal imaging.
