Fast weighted centroid algorithm for single particle localization near the information limit

A simple weighting scheme that enhances the localization precision of center of mass calculations for radially symmetric intensity distributions is presented. The algorithm effectively removes the biasing that is common in such center of mass calculations. Localization precision compares favorably with other localization algorithms used in super-resolution microscopy and particle tracking, while significantly reducing the processing time and memory usage. We expect that the algorithm presented will be of significant utility when fast computationally lightweight particle localization or tracking is desired. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America