Real-time handheld optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy

Opt Express. 2011 Oct 10;19(21):20097-102. doi: 10.1364/OE.19.020097.

Abstract

In this paper a new generation of optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM) with a wide range of potential clinical applications is demonstrated. Using fast scanning mirrors, an image guide with 30,000 fiber pixels, a refocusing lens and a unique probe we managed to reduce the footprint of an OR-PAM system from a stationary table-top system to a portable, 4 cm by 6 cm, probe weighing ~500 g tethered to a scanning unit. The phantom studies show that the handheld optical-resolution photoacoustic microscope is able to image with ~7 μm resolution. For in vivo studies images of the microvasculature in a Swiss Webster mouse ear are shown. The compact, flexible nature of the proposed design and the small footprint of the apparatus increase the usability of OR-PAM for potential clinical applications such as in dermatology.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Blood Vessels / pathology
  • Dermatology / methods*
  • Diagnostic Imaging / methods
  • Equipment Design
  • Hair / pathology
  • Humans
  • Lasers
  • Lenses
  • Mice
  • Microscopy, Acoustic / methods*
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / methods
  • Normal Distribution
  • Optics and Photonics
  • Phantoms, Imaging