The point spread function (PSF) describes the response of an imaging system to a point source or point object. When the object is divided into discrete point objects of varying intensity, the image is computed as a sum of the PSF of each point. As the PSF is typically determined entirely by the imaging system, the entire image can be described by knowing the optical properties of the system. This process is usually formulated by a convolution equation. For the case of laser beams, the PSF can be mathematically modeled using the concepts of Gaussian beams