Significance: Particle field holography is a versatile technique to determine the size and distribution of moving or stationary particles in air or in a liquid without significant disturbance of the sample volume. Although this technique is applied in biological sample analysis, it is limited to small sample volumes, thus increasing the number of measurements per sample. In this work, we characterize the maximum achievable volume limit based on the specification of a given sensor to realize the development of a potentially low-cost, single-shot, large-volume holographic microscope.

Aim: We present mathematical formulas that will aid in the design and development and improve the focusing speed for the numerical reconstruction of registered holograms in particle field holographic microscopes. Our proposed methodology has potential application in the detection of Schistosoma haematobium eggs in human urine samples.

Approach: Using the Fraunhofer holography theory for opaque objects, we derived an exact formula for the maximum diffraction-limited volume for an in-line holographic setup. The proof-of-concept device built based on the derived formulas was experimentally validated with urine spiked with cultured Schistosoma haematobium eggs.

Results: Results obtained show that for urine spiked with Schistosoma haematobium eggs, the volume thickness is limited to several millimeters due to scattering properties of the sample. The distances of the target particles could be estimated directly from the hologram fringes.

Conclusion: The methodology proposed will aid in the development of large-volume holographic microscopes.