Imaging objects embedded within highly scattering media by coupling light and ultrasounds (US) is a challenging approach. In deed, US enable direct access to the spatial localization, though resolution can be poor along their axis (cm). Up to now, several configurations have been studied, giving a millimetric axial resolution by applying to the US a microsecond pulse regime, as is the case with conventional echography. We introduce a new approach called Acousto-Optical Coherence Tomography (AOCT), enabling us to get a millimetric resolution with continuous US and light beams by applying random phase jumps on US and light. An experimental demonstration is performed with a self-adaptive holographic setup containing a photorefractive GaAs bulk crystal and a single large area photodetector.
The measurement of optical contrasts within thick biological tissues can be performed with the hybrid technique of acousto-optic imaging, but it has been shown that an acquisition rate in the 1-10kHz range is required for a good efficiency. This comes from the interferometric nature of the signal, blurred by speckle decorrelation in a time t(c), due to a decrease of the speckle pattern contrast at the exit of the sample. An holographic setup that associates a fast and large area single photodetector and a photorefractive crystal, can measure in real-time the acousto-optic signal: this is the so-called self-adaptive wavefront holography technique. Nevertheless, it is essential to size the photorefractive response time ( t(PR)) of the crystal with t(c) in order to optimize the signal-to-noise ratio of the measurement. This time mainly depends on the overall light intensity within the crystal. We have developed an original in situ method to determine t(PR) with the combination of acoustic pulses and a frequency de-tuning of the reference beam. We can measure precisely this time but also monitor it according to a theoretical model that we have previously described. We are able to adapt the response time of the setup to the decorrelation time of the medium under study.
We propose an original adaptive wavefront holographic setup based on the photorefractive effect (PR), to make real-time measurements of acousto-optic signals in thick scattering media, with a high flux collection at high rates for breast tumor detection. We describe here our present state of the art and understanding on the problem of breast imaging with PR detection of the acousto-optic signal.
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