Xing Da

Fast Microwave-Induced Thermoacoustic Tomography Based on Multi-Element Phase-Controlled Focus Technique

We develop a fast microwave-induced thermoacoustic tomography system based on a 320-element phase-controlled focus linear transducer array. A 1.2-GHz microwave generator transmits microwave with a pulse width of 0.5 μs and an incident energy density of 0.45 mJ/cm2, and the microwave energy is delivered by a rectangular waveguide with a cross section of (80.01±0.02)×10−4 m2. Compared to single transducer collection, the system with the multi-element linear transducer array can eliminate the mechanical rotation of the transducer, hence can effectively reduce the image blurring and improve the image resolution. Using a phase-controlled focus technique to collect thermoacoustic signals, the data need not be averaged because of a high signal-to-noise ratio, resulting in a total data acquisition time of less than 5 s. The system thus provides a rapid and reliable approach to thermoacoustic imaging, which can potentially be developed as a powerful diagnostic tool for early-stage breast caners.

In Vivo Monitoring of Neovascularization in Tumour Angiogenesis by Photoacoustic Tomography

Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) is presented to in vivo monitor neovascularization in tumour angiogenesis with high resolution and high contrast images in a rat. With a circular scan system, the photoacoustic signal, generated by laser pulses at a wavelength of 532 nm from a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser, is captured by a hydrophone with a diameter of 1 mm and a sensitivity of 850 nV/Pa. The vascular structure around the rat tumour is imaged clearly, with optimal contrast, because blood has strong absorption near this wavelength. Serial noninvasive photoacoustic images of neovascularization in tumour angiogenesis are also obtained consecutively from a growing tumour implanted under the skin of a rat over a period of two weeks. This work demonstrates that PAT can potentially provide a powerful tool for tumour angiogenesis detection in cancer research. It will bring us closer to clinical applications for tumour diagnosis and treatment monitoring.

Pharmacokinetic Monitoring of Indocyanine Green for Tumor Detection Using Photoacoustic Imaging

We report tumor detection using a photoacoustic technique for the imaging of angiogenesis and monitoring of agent pharmacokinetics on an animal model. We take 532-nm laser pulses to excite photoacoustic signals of blood vessels with acquisition by a broadband hydrophone, and the morphological characteristics of tumor angiogenesis are successfully image depicted. Furthermore, tumor pharmacokinetics is preformed and analyzed with fast multielement photoacoustic imaging of the intravenous-injected indocyanine green (ICG). Photoacoustic signals of ICG are excited with 805 nm laser pulses and recorded by transducer array as a function of time. The difference between the photoacoustic signal from the tumor side and that from the normal side is observed, and the ICG clearance velocity in the tumor area is found to lag behind that in the normal area. Experimental results demonstrate that photoacoustic imaging of morphological parameter and pharmacokinetics with specific agent may provide high sensitive approach for tumor detection and localization.

A Combined Reconstruction Algorithm for Limited-View Multi-Element Photoacoustic Imaging

We present a photoacoustic imaging system with a linear transducer array scanning in limited-view fields and develop a combined reconstruction algorithm, which is a combination of the limited-field filtered back projection (LFBP) algorithm and the simultaneous iterative reconstruction technique (SIRT) algorithm, to reconstruct the optical absorption distribution. In this algorithm, the LFBP algorithm is exploited to reconstruct the original photoacoustic image, and then the SIRT algorithm is used to improve the quality of the final reconstructed photoacoustic image. Numerical simulations with calculated incomplete data validate the reliability of this algorithm and the reconstructed experimental results further demonstrate that the combined reconstruction algorithm effectively reduces the artifacts and blurs and yields better quality of reconstruction image than that with the LFBP algorithm.