text: The change and degradation in electron backscatter patterns (EBSPs) provide information about the diffracting volume. Pattern degradation (i.e., diffuse quality) can be used to assess the level of plasticity through the pattern/image quality (IQ), where IQ is calculated from the sum of the peaks detected when using the conventional Hough transform. Wilkinson first used the changes in high-order Kikuchi line positions to determine the elastic strains, albeit with low precision (0.3% to 1%); however, this approach cannot be used for characterising residual elastic strain in metals as the elastic strain at the yield point is usually around 0.2%. Measuring strain by tracking the change in the higher-order Kikuchi lines is practical when the strain is small, as the band position is sensitive to changes in lattice parameters. In the early 1990s, Troost et al. and Wilkinson et al. used pattern degradation and change in the zone axis position to measure the residual elastic strains and small lattice rotations with a 0.02% precision.