Gloria M. Spirou

Optical and acoustic properties at 1064 nm of polyvinyl chloride-plastisol for use as a tissue phantom in biomedical optoacoustics

A novel optoacoustic phantom made of polyvinyl chloride-plastisol (PVCP) for optoacoustic studies is described. The optical and acoustic properties of PVCP were measured. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) powder and black plastic colour (BPC) were used to introduce scattering and absorption, respectively, in the phantoms. The optical absorption coefficient (mua) at 1064 nm was determined using an optoacoustic method, while diffuse reflectance measurements were used to obtain the optical reduced scattering coefficient (mus). These optical properties were calculated to be mua = (12.818 +/- 0.001)ABPC cm(-1) and mus = (2.6 +/- 0.2)S(TiO2) + (1.4 +/- 0.1) cm(-1), where ABPC is the BPC per cent volume concentration, and S(TiO2) is the TiO2 volume concentration (mg mL(-1)). The speed of sound in PVCP was measured to be (1.40 +/- 0.02) x 10(3) m s(-1) using the pulse echo transmit receive method, with an acoustic attenuation of (0.56 +/- 1.01) f(1.51+/-0.06)MHz (dB cm(-1)) in the frequency range of 0.61-1.25 MHz, and a density, calculated by measuring the displacement of water, of 1.00 +/- 0.04 g cm(-3). The speed of sound and density of PVCP are similar to tissue, and together with the user-adjustable optical properties, make this material well suited for developing tissue-equivalent phantoms for biomedical optoacoustics.

Development of a laser photothermoacoustic frequency-swept system for subsurface imaging: Theory and experiment

In conventional biomedical photoacoustic imaging systems, a pulsed laser is used to generate time-of-flight acoustic information of the subsurface features. This paper reports the theoretical and experimental development of a new frequency-domain (FD) photo-thermo-acoustic (PTA) principle featuring frequency sweep (chirp) and heterodyne modulation and lock-in detection of a continuous-wave laser source at 1064 nm wavelength. PTA imaging is a promising new technique which is being developed to detect tumor masses in turbid biological tissue. Owing to the linear relationship between the depth of acoustic signal generation and the delay time of signal arrival to the transducer, information specific to a particular depth can be associated with a particular frequency in the chirp signal. Scanning laser modulation with a linear frequency sweep method preserves the depth-to-delay time linearity and recovers FD-PTA signals from a range of depths. Preliminary results performed on rubber samples and solid tissue phantoms indicate that the FD-PTA technique has the potential to be a reliable tool for biomedical depth-profilometric imaging.

Simulation and First Test of a Microdosimetric Detector Based on a Thick Gas Electron Multiplier

We present design of a new microdosimetry detector based on thick gas electron multiplier (THGEM). A prototype detector was designed for a cylindrical sensitive volume with 5 mm diameter and 5 mm height. To optimize the avalanche gain, the electron avalanche process was modeled by varying THGEM thickness, hole diameter and high voltage bias for the tissue-equivalent propane gas. For a THGEM with 0.6 mm thickness and 0.3 mm hole diameter, the theoretical avalanche gain reached ~ 200 at a 800 V THGEM bias. The prototype detector was fabricated and tested using the McMaster 7Li(p,n) neutron source. The avalanche gain of the prototype detector was comparable with the gain of the standard microdosimetry detector. Additional THGEMs with various thicknesses were fabricated and are under tests.

Development and testing of an optoacoustic imaging system for monitoring and guiding prostate cancer therapies

Laser Optoacoustic Imaging System (LOIS) combines high tissue contrast based on the optical properties of tissue and high spatial resolution based on ultrawide-band ultrasonic detection. Patients undergoing thermal or photodynamic therapy of prostate cancer may benefit from capability of LOIS to detect and monitor treatment-induced changes in tissue optical properties and blood flow. The performance of a prototype LOIS was evaluated via 2D optoacoustic images of dye-colored objects of various shapes, small tubes with blood simulating veins and arteries, and thermally coagulated portions of chicken breasts imbedded tissue-mimicking gelatin phantoms. The optoacoustic image contrast was proportional to the ratio of the absorption coefficient between the embedded objects and the surrounding gel. The contrast of the venous blood relative to the background exceeded 250%, and the contrast of the thermally coagulated portions of flesh relative to the untreated tissue ranged between -100% to +200%, dependent on the optical wavelength. We used a 32-element optoacoustic transducer array and a novel design of low-noise preamplifiers and wide-band amplifiers to perform these studies. The system was optimized for imaging at a depth of ~50 mm. The system spatial resolution was better than 1-mm. The advantages and limitations of various signal-processing methods were investigated. LOIS demonstrates clinical potential for non- or minimally-invasive monitoring of treatment-induced tissue changes.

Comparison of Three Pulse Processing Systems for Microdosimetry

Three different pulse processing systems coupled to a tissue-equivalent proportional counter were tested in performance for various neutron and gamma-ray dose rates. The three systems used are a conventional analogue system, a real time system and a digital pulse processing system. The Tandetron accelerator at the McMaster Accelerator Laboratory was used to produce a mixed neutron-gamma field via the 7Li(p,n) reaction. The proton energy ranged from 1.8 to 2.5 MeV with the current set at 100, 200 and 300 muA. The digital system displayed the fastest pulse processing speed. Microdosimetric spectra from the three systems were consistent and both neutron and gamma-ray dose rates showed good agreement in most cases. At neutron dose rates higher than 20 mGy/min the data from the digital system was reliable while systematic deviations were observed for the other two systems.

Comparison of three pulse processing systems for microdosimetry

Three different pulse processing systems coupled to a tissue-equivalent proportional counter were tested in performance for various counting rates. The Tandetron accelerator at the McMaster Accelerator Laboratory was used to produce a mixed neutron-gamma field. Depending on the proton energy, different neutron and gamma dose rates were observed. The proton energy ranged from 1.8 to 2.5 MeV with the current set at 100, 200 and 300 muA. The three pulse height analysis systems used were a Conventional Analogues System (CAS), a Real Time System (RTS) and a Digital Pulse Processing System (DPP). The results have shown consistent microdosimetric spectra. The neutron dose rate was consistent at low energies between the three processing systems. At the higher proton energy and current settings the neutron dose rate values obtained by the three systems were still within error but a slight deviation was observed.

Three-dimensional photothermoacoustic depth-profilometric imaging by use of a linear frequency sweep lock-in heterodyne method

Frequency-domain correlation and spectral analysis photothermoacoustic (FD-PTA) imaging is a promising new technique, which is being developed to detect tumor masses in turbid biological tissue. Unlike conventional biomedical photoacoustics which uses time-of-flight acoustic information induced by a pulsed laser to indicate the tumor size and location, in this research, a new FD-PTA instrument featuring frequency sweep (chirp) and heterodyne modulation and lock-in detection of a continuous-wave laser source at 1064 nm wavelength is constructed and tested for its depth profilometric capabilities in turbid media imaging. Owing to the linear relationship between the depth of acoustic signal generation and the delay time of signal arrival to the transducer, information specific to a particular depth can be associated with a particular frequency in the chirp signal. Scanning laser-fluence modulation frequencies with a linear frequency sweep method preserves the depth-to-delay time linearity and recovers FD-PTA signals from a range of depths. A report on two-dimensional spatial scans, performed on tissue mimicking control phantoms with various optical, acoustical and geometrical properties will be presented. Combining with the depth information carried by the back-propagated chirp signal at each scanning position, one could rapidly generate sub-surface three-dimensional images of the scanning area, a combination of tasks that is difficult or impossible by use of pulsed photoacoustic detection. It is concluded that frequency domain photothermoacoustics using a linear frequency sweep method and heterodyne lock-in detection has the potential to be a reliable tool for biomedical depth-profilometric imaging.

Frequency domain photothermoacoustic signal amplitude dependence on the optical properties of water: turbid polyvinyl chloride-plastisol system.

Photoacoustic (more precisely, photothermoacoustic) signals generated by the absorption of photons can be related to the incident laser fluence rate. The dependence of frequency domain photoacoustic (FD-PA) signals on the optical absorption coefficient (micro(a)) and the effective attenuation coefficient (micro(eff)) of a turbid medium [polyvinyl chloride-plastisol (PVCP)] with tissuelike optical properties was measured, and empirical relationships between these optical properties and the photoacoustic (PA) signal amplitude and the laser fluence rate were derived for the water (PVCP system with and without optical scatterers). The measured relationships between these sample optical properties and the PA signal amplitude were found to be linear, consistent with FD-PA theory: micro(a)=a(A/Phi)-b and micro(eff)=c(A/Phi)+d, where Phi is the laser fluence, A is the FD-PA amplitude, and a, ...,d are empirical coefficients determined from the experiment using linear frequency-swept modulation and a lock-in heterodyne detection technique. This quantitative technique can easily be used to measure the optical properties of general turbid media using FD-PAs.

Examination of Contrast Mechanisms in Optoacoustic Imaging of Thermal Lesions

Optoacoustic Imaging is based on the thermal expansion of tissue caused by a temperature rise due to absorption of short laser pulses. At constant laser fluence, optoacoustic image contrast is proportional to differences in optical absorption and the thermoacoustic efficiency, expressed by the Grueuneisen parameter, Γ. Γ is proportional to the thermal expansion coefficient, the sound velocity squared and the inverse heat capacity at constant pressure. In thermal therapies, these parameters may be modified in the treated area. In this work experiments were performed to examine the influence of these parameters on image contrast. A Laser Optoacoustic Imaging System (LOIS, Fairway Medical Technologies, Houston, Texas) was used to image tissue phantoms comprised of cylindrical Polyvinyl Chloride Plastisol (PVCP) optical absorbing targets imbedded in either gelatin or PVCP as the background medium. Varying concentrations of Black Plastic Color (BPC) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) were added to targets and background to yield desired tissue relevant optical absorption and effective scattering coefficients, respectively. In thermal therapy experiments, ex-vivo bovine liver was heated with laser fibres (805nm laser at 5 W for 600s) to create regions of tissue coagulation. Lesions formed in the liver tissue were visible using the LOIS system with reasonable correspondence to the actual region of tissue coagulation. In the phantom experiments, contrast could be seen with low optical absorbing targets (μa of 0.50cm-1 down to 0.13cm-1) embedded in a gelatin background (see manuscript for formula). Therefore, the data suggest that small objects (< 5mm) with low absorption coefficients (in the range < 1cm-1) can be imaged using LOIS. PVCP-targets in gelatin were visible, even with the same optical properties as the gelatin, but different Γ. The enhanced contrast may also be caused by differences in the mechanical properties between the target and the surrounding medium. PVCP-targets imbedded in PVCP produced poorer image contrast than PVCP-targets in gelatin with comparable optical properties. The preliminary investigation in tissue equivalent phantoms indicates that in addition to tissue optical properties, differences in mechanical properties between heated and unheated tissues may be responsible for image contrast. Furthermore, thermal lesions in liver tissue, ex-vivo, can be visualized using an optoacoustic system.