Electromagnetic wave determining device, flow cytometer, electromagnetic wave determining method, and electromagnetic wave determining program

A method for imaging an object comprising:

• (a) emitting at least one electromagnetic wave, having at least partial coherence, towards a flow path to cause at least one optical interaction between the at least one electromagnetic wave and the object;
• (b) directing an electromagnetic wave modulating unit to modulate one or both of a phase or an amplitude of the at least one electromagnetic wave following the at least one optical interaction to produce at least one modulated electromagnetic wave, wherein the electromagnetic wave modulating unit comprises a plurality of areas configured to modulate the at least one electromagnetic wave differently;
• (c) detecting at least one intensity of the at least one modulated electromagnetic wave;
• and
• (d) generating at least a phase image or an amplitude image of the object based at least in part on the at least one intensity of the at least one modulated electromagnetic wave detected in (c).

A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising machine-executable code that, upon execution by one or more computer processors, implements a method for imaging an object flowing through a flow path:

• (a) emitting at least one electromagnetic wave, having at least partial coherence, towards a flow path to cause at least one optical interaction between the at least one electromagnetic wave and the object;
• (b) directing an electromagnetic wave modulating unit to modulate one or both of a phase or an amplitude of the at least one electromagnetic wave following the at least one optical interaction to produce at least one modulated electromagnetic wave, wherein the electromagnetic wave modulating unit comprises a plurality of areas configured to modulate the at least one electromagnetic wave differently;
• (c) detecting at least one intensity of the at least one modulated electromagnetic wave;
• and
• (d) generating at least a phase image or an amplitude image of the object based at least in part on the at least one intensity of the at least one modulated electromagnetic wave detected in (c).