A miniature forward-viewing endoscopic probe that provides high-resolution 3D photoacoustic images is demonstrated. The probe is of outer diameter 3.2 mm and comprised of a transparent Fabry-Pérot (FP) polymer-film ultrasound sensor that is located at the distal end of a rigid optical fiber bundle. Excitation laser pulses are coupled simultaneously into all cores of the bundle and are transmitted through the FP sensor to provide wide-field tissue illumination at the distal end. The resulting photoacoustic waves are mapped in 2D by sequentially scanning the input end of the bundle with an interrogation laser beam in order to individually address different points on the FP sensor. In this way, the sensor acts as a high-density ultrasound array that is comprised of 50,000 individual elements, each of which is 12 µm in diameter, within the 3.2 mm diameter footprint of the probe. The fine spatial sampling that this affords, along with the wide bandwidth (f-3dB = 34 MHz) of the sensor, enables a high-resolution photoacoustic image to be reconstructed. The measured on-axis lateral resolution of the probe was depth-dependent and ranged from 45-170 µm for depths between 1 and 7 mm, and the vertical resolution was 31 µm over the same depth range. The system was evaluated by acquiring 3D images of absorbing phantoms and the microvascular anatomies of a duck embryo and mouse skin. Excellent image fidelity was demonstrated. It is anticipated that this type of probe could find application as a tool for guiding laparoscopic procedures, fetal surgery and other minimally invasive interventions that require a millimeter-scale forward-viewing 3D photoacoustic imaging probe.

Minimally invasive fetal interventions require accurate imaging from inside the uterine cavity. Twin-totwin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), a condition considered in this study, occurs from abnormal vascular anastomoses in the placenta that allow blood to flow unevenly between the fetuses. Currently, TTTS is treated fetoscopically by identifying the anastomosing vessels, and then performing laser photocoagulation. However, white light fetoscopy provides limited visibility of placental vasculature, which can lead to missed anastomoses or incomplete photocoagulation. Photoacoustic (PA) imaging is an alternative imaging method that provides contrast for hemoglobin, and in this study, two PA systems were used to visualize chorionic (fetal) superficial and subsurface vasculature in human placentas.

Fabry-Pérot (FP) etalons are used as filters and sensors in a range of optical systems. Often FP etalons are illuminated by collimated laser beams, in which case the transmitted and reflected light fields can be calculated analytically using well established models. However, FP etalons are sometimes illuminated by more complex beams such as focussed Gaussian beams, which may also be aberrated. Modelling the response of FP etalons to these beams requires a more sophisticated model. To address this need, we present a model that can describe the response of an FP etalon that is illuminated by an arbitrary beam. The model uses an electromagnetic wave description of light and can therefore compute the amplitude, phase and polarization of the optical field at any position in the system. It can also account for common light delivery and detection components such as lenses, optical fibres and photo-detectors, allowing practical systems to be simulated. The model was validated against wavelength resolved measurements of transmittance and reflectance obtained using a system consisting of an FP etalon illuminated by a focussed Gaussian beam. Experiments with focal spot sizes ranging from 30 µm to 250 µm and FP etalon mirror reflectivities in the range 97.2 % to 99.2 % yielded excellent visual agreement between simulated and experimental data and an average error below 10% for a range of quantitative comparative metrics. We expect the model to be a useful tool for designing, understanding and optimising systems that use FP etalons.