Reading SPE Files in MATLAB

Processing SPE files (Princeton Instruments proprietary format) in MATLAB requires specific reading methods. SPE files typically contain spectral or image data acquired from scientific cameras (such as CCD or EMCCD), storing multidimensional datasets and metadata information in binary format.

The core implementation approach involves parsing the file header information to locate the data segment, then reading data according to specified data types (e.g., uint16 or float32). Key steps include: verifying file identifiers, extracting image dimensions and pixel depth, seeking to the data start position, and finally reconstructing the matrix in row-column order. In code implementation, developers would typically use fopen() to open the file, fread() with appropriate precision parameters to extract header metadata, and reshape() functions to reformat the raw data into proper dimensional arrays.

Developers should note structural differences in header formats across SPE file versions and are recommended to prioritize using official SDKs or validated third-party parsing libraries. For time-series data, additional processing of embedded parameters like frame intervals and exposure times is required. This file parsing technique finds wide applications in spectral analysis, fluorescence microscopy, and other scientific imaging domains where precise data extraction and dimension handling are critical for accurate experimental results.