Table 3. Photons and time (s) required for a 256x256 pixel image of a two-component fluorescence decay where τ₁ = 0.5, τ₂ = 1.2 and α₁ = 0.8, with and without noise reduction techniques. Calculations assume a 80MHz laser source and 10% photon efficiency. Minimum photons required for total error < 10%.

Analysis Technique	Minimum Photons Required	Imaging Time for 256x256 Image (s)
None	30000	246
Temporal^ Binning	4000	32.8
Spatial* Binning	3333	27.3
Temporal and Spatial* Binning	444	3.64
Fixed τ1 & τ2	100	0.819
Fixed τ1 & τ2 with Spatial* Binning	11	0.090

^ Binning to 42 time bins.

* 9 pixel moving spatial bin.