Parallel acoustic delay lines for photoacoustic tomography. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Achieving real-time photoacoustic (PA) tomography typically requires multi-element ultrasound transducer arrays and their associated multiple data acquisition (DAQ) electronics to receive PA waves simultaneously. We report the first demonstration of a photoacoustic tomography (PAT) system using optical fiber-based parallel acoustic delay lines (PADLs). By employing PADLs to introduce specific time delays, the PA signals (on the order of a few micro seconds) can be forced to arrive at the ultrasonic transducers at different times. As a result, time-delayed PA signals in multiple channels can be ultimately received and processed in a serial manner with a single-element transducer, followed by single-channel DAQ electronics. Our results show that an optically absorbing target in an optically scattering medium can be photoacoustically imaged using the newly developed PADL-based PAT system. Potentially, this approach could be adopted to significantly reduce the complexity and cost of ultrasonic array receiver systems.

published proceedings

  • J Biomed Opt

author list (cited authors)

  • Yapici, M. K., Kim, C., Chang, C., Jeon, M., Guo, Z., Cai, X., Zou, J., & Wang, L. V.

citation count

  • 19

complete list of authors

  • Yapici, Murat Kaya||Kim, Chulhong||Chang, Cheng-Chung||Jeon, Mansik||Guo, Zijian||Cai, Xin||Zou, Jun||Wang, Lihong V

publication date

  • November 2012