System and method for generating an image

A system for generating an image of a sample exhibiting non-Poissonian emission statistics, the system comprising:

• a light source configured to scan the sample with an excitation source;
• a collection array comprising a plurality of photon collectors each configured to receive photons emitted by the sample due to excitation by the excitation source;
• a detector assembly comprising a plurality of detectors each corresponding to one of said photon collectors, the detector assembly being configured to measure the arrival time of the collected photons;
• and
• a computing device configured to:
• generate a plurality of intensity images associated with each of said detectors, each of said intensity images being proportional to the mean number of photons detected per unit time;
• generate a plurality of correlation images associated with each combination of two of said detectors, each of said correlation images being proportional to the variance of the distribution of detected photons per unit time;
• and
• generating the image of said sample using joint sparse recovery from said plurality of intensity and correlation images, wherein said intensity and correlation images have common support.