We already have commercial systems which do this. See PhaseFocus for example (http://www.phasefocus.com/technology-virtual-lens/ http://www.phasefocus.com/tech

We already have commercial systems which do this. See PhaseFocus for example (http://www.phasefocus.com/technology-virtual-lens/ http://www.phasefocus.com/technology-virtual-lens/). This uses proprietary deconvolution algorithms to reconstruct a 3D volume from diffraction patterns in unfocussed (or partially focussed) 2D planes. See also X-ray crystallography, which samples in Fourier space and uses a computed transform to reconstruct the 3D image. This new microlens technology is very neat, but the processing problem has been solved for several different applications for several years now. Reconstructing a 3D volume is absolutely possible, and while this new development will undoubtedly require new algorithms to work, it's already got a sound basis in existing technology in use today.