Theory of Image Formation

Fully revised and updated, this classic is the definitive guide to the mathematical models underlying imaging from sensed data.

Richard E. Blahut (Author)

9781009356206, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 24 April 2025

639 pages
24.9 x 17.5 x 3.8 cm, 1.25 kg

Fully revised and updated, the second edition of this classic text is the definitive guide to the mathematical models underlying imaging from sensed data. Building on fundamental principles derived from the two- and three-dimensional Fourier transform, and other key mathematical concepts, it introduces a broad range of imaging modalities within a unified framework, emphasising universal theoretical concepts over specific physical aspects. This expanded edition presents new coverage of optical-coherence microscopy, electron-beam microscopy, near-field microscopy, and medical imaging modalities including MRI, CAT, ultrasound, and the imaging of viruses, and introduces additional end-of-chapter problems to support reader understanding. Encapsulating the author's fifty years of experience in the field, this is the ideal introduction for senior undergraduate and graduate students, academic researchers, and professional engineers across engineering and the physical sciences.

1. Introduction
2. Signals in one dimension
3. Signals in two dimensions
4. Optical imaging systems
5. Apertures and radiation patterns
6. Tomographic imaging systems
7. Construction and reconstruction of images
8. Likelihood and information methods
9. Diffraction imaging systems
10. The Woodward ambiguity function
11. Radar imaging systems
12. Radar search systems
13. Passive and baseband systems
14. Data combination and tracking
15. Phase noise and phase distortion.

Subject Areas: Communications engineering / telecommunications [TJK]