US Patent 9693038 Systems and methods for imaging

An imaging device has a light field imager and a processor. The light field imager includes a microlens array, and a light field sensor positioned proximate to the microlens array, having a plurality of pixels and recording light field data of an optical target from light passing through the microlens array. The processor is configured to: receive the light field data of the optical target from the light field sensor, estimate signal to noise ratio and depth of the optical target in the light field data, select a subset of sub-aperture images based on the signal to noise ratio and depth, combine the selected subset of sub-aperture images, and perform image analysis on the combined subset of sub-aperture images.