Theoretical Imaging Science

3 units

Imaging science encompasses the design and optimization of imaging systems to quantitatively measure information of interest. Imaging systems are important in many scientific and medical applications and may be designed for one specific application or for a range of applications. Performance is quantified for any given task through an understanding of the statistical model for the imaging data, the data processing algorithm used, and a measure of accuracy or error. Optimal processing is based on statistical decision theory and estimation theory; performance bounds include the receiver operating characteristic and Cramer-Rao bounds. Bayesian methods often lead to ideal observers. Extensions of methods from finite-dimensional spaces to function space are fundamental for many imaging applications. A variety of methods to assess image quality and resulting imaging system optimization are covered.