# PolSpec : Polarisation‐Based Detection for Versatile, Cost‐Effective Rapid Hyperspectral Imaging

## TL;DR

PolSpec is a fast, low-cost method for hyperspectral imaging that uses polarization to capture detailed spectral data in a single shot.

## Contribution

PolSpec introduces a novel polarization-based approach for efficient spectral imaging with reduced data volume and cost.

## Key findings

- PolSpec enables single-shot widefield hyperspectral imaging using a polarisation-resolving camera.
- The method was successfully applied to H&E-stained histological sections and fluorescent pollen grain samples.
- PolSpec provides data-efficient spectral representation for rapid visualization and segmentation of spectral contrast.

## Abstract

“PolSpec” is a flexible, cost‐effective approach for rapid (including single‐shot) spectrally resolved imaging. While established approaches, e.g., using cascades of dichroic beamsplitters, diffractive image splitters, or mosaic filters, typically have pre‐determined spectral detection bands with cost and experimental complexity scaling with the number of spectral channels, PolSpec uses polarisation optics to provide continuously varying transmission across a configurable spectral range to generate “spectral modulation vectors” that can represent specific spectral signatures with lower data volumes than full spectral profiles. It can be implemented with almost any detector. Here we demonstrate low‐cost single‐shot widefield PolSpec‐based hyperspectral imaging using a polarisation‐resolving camera.

“PolSpec” is a fast, flexible, data efficient and cost‐effective technique for hyperspectral imaging utilising polarisation‐based spectral modulation. Using data‐efficient representation of spectral information on vector plots, it facilitates rapid visualisation and segmentation of spectral contrast to classify sample features. As a proof of concept, a single‐shot widefield PolSpec module was implemented using a polarisation‐resolving camera and applied to imaging H&E‐stained histological sections and fluorescent pollen grain samples.