Optical phase microscopy is an indispensable tool to quantify various biophysical parameters of cells and tissues with high accuracy. Quantitative information about cell or tissue morphology, dynamic membrane fluctuations, refractive index, dry mass, haemoglobin concentration etc. are essential for early stage diagnosis of various diseases. During the last three decades various quantitative phase microscopic techniques have been developed world wide and utilized for various applications. In this paper we provide an overview of the field with emphasis on the work carried out in India. The most widely used techniques such as, digital holographic microscopy, white light interference microscopy and low spatial coherence optical tomographic techniques are described and reviewed. Experimental results of quantitative imaging of red blood cells, oral cancer cells and tomographic sectioning of multilayer structure are presented.
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