Optoacoustic imaging based on the interferometric measurement of surface displacement

J Biomed Opt. 2007 Nov-Dec;12(6):064001. doi: 10.1117/1.2812665.

Abstract

We present images of tissue phantoms and chicken chorio-allantoic membrane vasculature using a novel optoacoustic tomography technique based on the time-resolved interferometric measurement of laser-induced thermoelastic expansion. Our imaging system is based on a modified Mach-Zehnder interferometer that provides surface displacement measurements with a temporal resolution of 4 ns and a displacement sensitivity of 0.3 nm. The images are reconstructed from surface displacement measurements made at several locations following irradiation of the sample with Q-switched Nd:YAG (lambda=532, 1064 nm) laser pulses using a delay and sum beam-forming algorithm. The images shown demonstrate the ability of our method to provide better than 200-microm lateral and 30-microm axial resolution at depths exceeding ten transport mean free paths in highly scattering in-vitro and in-vivo model systems.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Acoustics
  • Algorithms
  • Allantois / anatomy & histology
  • Allantois / blood supply
  • Animals
  • Chick Embryo
  • Chorion / anatomy & histology
  • Chorion / blood supply
  • Elasticity
  • Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional
  • Interferometry / instrumentation
  • Interferometry / methods*
  • Interferometry / statistics & numerical data
  • Optics and Photonics
  • Phantoms, Imaging
  • Surface Properties