Spectral mapping tools from the earth sciences applied to spectral microscopy data

Spectral imaging, originating from the field of earth remote sensing, is a powerful tool that is being increasingly used in a wide variety of applications for material identification. Several workers have used techniques like linear spectral unmixing (LSU) to discriminate materials in images derived from spectral microscopy. However, many spectral analysis algorithms rely on assumptions that are often violated in microscopy applications. This study explores algorithms originally developed as improvements on early earth imaging techniques that can be easily translated for use with spectral microscopy.