Monte Carlo simulation of light transport in dark-field confocal photoacoustic microscopy

A modified MC convolution method for integration extension of MC simulation is developed for finite photon beam with random shape of translational or rotational invariance, which is proven consistent with the conventional convolution extension of MC simulation for normal incident finite beam. The method is applied to analyze the positions of fluence foci and ratios of fluence at the focus and surface which are two key factors in the application of dark-field confocal and some interesting points are presented including: 1) The fluence profile has a saddle-like shape with highest peak in the bright field and low valley near the surface and a second rise in the center of dark field which is defined as the effective optical focus; 2) Besides a little peak near zero inner radius, the ratio of fluences at the focus and surface increases linearly with the inner radius, suggesting the large inner radius more advantageous to image at the effective optical focus; 3) The position of effective optical foci deepens linearly with the increase of the inner radius, suggesting that to get a high quality image of deeper target, a dark-field with larger size is more beneficial. But the position of fluence foci are far away from the foci of geometrical laser beam in high scattering tissue, so aligning the foci of geometrical laser beam and acoustic transducer doesn't guarantee that effective optical focus is accurately overlapping with the acoustic focus. An MC simulation with integration extension presented in this paper maybe helpful to determine where the acoustic focus should be to maximize the SNR in tissue imaging; 4) incident angle makes little difference to ratio of fluences at the focus and surface and an incident angle between 30 and 50 degrees gives the highest fluence at the effective optical focus; 5) the depth of fluence focus is insensitive to the incident angle

Deep penetrating photoacoustic tomography in biological tissues

Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) in a circular scanning configuration was developed to image the deeply embedded optical heterogeneity in biological tissues. Based on the intrinsic contrast between blood and chicken breast muscle, an embedded blood object that was 5 cm deep in the tissue was detected using pulsed laser light at a wavelength of 1064 nm. Compared with detectors for flat active surfaces, cylindrically focused ultrasonic transducers can reduce the interference generated from the off-plane photoacoustic sources and make the image in the scanning plane clearer. While the optical penetration was optimized with near-infrared laser pulses of 800 nm in wavelength, the optical contrast was enhanced by indocyanine green (ICG) whose absorption peak matched the laser wavelength. This optimized PAT was able to image fine objects embedded at a depth of up to 5.2-cm, which is 6.2 times the 1/e optical penetration depth, in chicken breast muscle, at a resolution of < ~750 microns with a sensitivity of <7 pmol of ICG in blood. The resolution was found to deteriorate slowly with increasing imaging depth

Noninvasive imaging of hemoglobin concentration and oxygenation in the rat brain using high-resolution photoacoustic tomography

Simultaneous transcranial imaging of two functional parameters, the total concentration of hemoglobin and the hemoglobin oxygen saturation, in the rat brain in vivo is realized noninvasively using laser-based photoacoustic tomography (PAT). As in optical diffusion spectroscopy, PAT can assess the optical absorption of endogenous chromophores, e.g., oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobins, at multiple optical wavelengths. However, PAT can provide high spatial resolution because its resolution is diffraction-limited by photoacoustic signals rather than by optical diffusion. Laser pulses at two wavelengths are used sequentially to acquire photoacoustic images of the vasculature in the cerebral cortex of a rat brain through the intact skin and skull. The distributions of blood volume and blood oxygenation in the cerebral cortical venous vessels, altered by systemic physiological modulations including hyperoxia, normoxia, and hypoxia, are visualized successfully with satisfactory spatial resolution. This technique, with its prominent sensitivity to endogenous contrast, can potentially contribute to the understanding of the interrelationship between neural, hemodynamic, and metabolic activities in the brain

Adaptive and Robust Methods of Reconstruction (ARMOR) for Thermoacoustic Tomography

In this paper, we present new adaptive and robust methods of reconstruction (ARMOR) for thermoacoustic tomography (TAT), and study their performances for breast cancer detection. TAT is an emerging medical imaging technique that combines the merits of high contrast due to electromagnetic or laser stimulation and high resolution offered by thermal acoustic imaging. The current image reconstruction methods used for TAT, such as the delay-and-sum (DAS) approach, are data-independent and suffer from low-resolution, high sidelobe levels, and poor interference rejection capabilities. The data-adaptive ARMOR can have much better resolution and much better interference rejection capabilities than their data-independent counterparts. By allowing certain uncertainties, ARMOR can be used to mitigate the amplitude and phase distortion problems encountered in TAT. The excellent performance of ARMOR is demonstrated using both simulated and experimentally measured data

High-resolution spectroscopic photoacoustic tomography for non-invasive functional imaging of small-animal brains in vivo

Based on the multiwavelength laser-based photoacoustic tomography, noninvasive imaging of cerebral blood oxygenation and blood volume in small-animal brains in vivo was realized. The high sensitivity of this technique is based on the spectroscopic differences between oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobins whereas its spatial resolution is diffraction-limited by the photoacoustic signals. The point-by-point distributions of hemoglobin oxygen saturation and total concentration of hemoglobin in the cerebral cortical venous vessels, altered by systemic physiological modulations including hyperoxia and hypoxia, were visualized successfully through the intact skin and skull. This technique can potentially accelerate the progress in neuroscience and provide important new insights into cerebrovascular physiology and brain function

High-resolution photoacoustic tomography

Optical contrast is sensitive to physiological parameters, such as the oxygen saturation and total concentration of hemoglobin, in biological tissues. Photoacoustic tomography is based on the high optical contrast yet utilizing the high ultrasonic resolution. Our work in this emerging area of research will be summarized in this invited talk. In this technology, a diffraction-based inverse-source problem is solved in the image reconstruction, for which we developed the rigorous reconstruction theory. We implemented a prototype and accomplished non-invasive transdermal and transcranial functional imaging of small-animal brains in vivo. Changes in the cerebral blood oxygenation and blood volume of a rat, as a result of the alternation from hyperoxia to hypoxia, were imaged successfully

Functional photoacoustic tomography for non-invasive imaging of cerebral blood oxygenation and blood volume in rat brain in vivo

Based on the multi-wavelength laser-based photoacoustic tomography, non-invasive in vivo imaging of functional parameters, including the hemoglobin oxygen saturation and the total concentration of hemoglobin, in small-animal brains was realized. The high sensitivity of this technique is based on the spectroscopic differences between oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin while its spatial resolution is bandwidth-limited by the photoacoustic signals rather than by the optical diffusion as in optical imaging. The point-by-point distributions of blood oxygenation and blood volume in the cerebral cortical venous vessels, altered by systemic physiological modulations including hyperoxia, normoxia and hypoxia, were visualized successfully through the intact skin and skull. This technique, with its prominent intrinsic advantages, can potentially accelerate the progress in neuroscience and provide important new insights into cerebrovascular physiology and brain function that are of great significance to the neuroscience community