One of the major medical applications of optoacoustic (OA) tomography is in the diagnostics of early-stage breast cancer. A numerical approach was developed to characterize the following parameters of an OA imaging system: resolution, maximum depth at which the tumor can be detected, and image contrast. The parameters of the 64-element focused array transducer were obtained. The results of numerical modeling were compared with known analytical solutions and further validated by phantom experiments. The OA images of a 3 mm piece of bovine liver immersed in diluted milk at various depths were obtained. Based on the results of modeling, a signal filtering algorithm for OA image contrast enhancement has been proposed.
Optoacoustic (OA) imaging utilizes short laser pulses to create acoustic sources in tissue and time resolved detection of generated pressure profiles for image reconstruction. The ultrasonic transients provide information on the distribution of optical absorption coefficient that can be useful for early cancer diagnostics. In this work a new design of wide-band array transducer is developed and tested. The array consists of 32 focused piezo-elements made of PVDF slabs imposed on a cylindrical surface. A single array element response to an OA signal coming from arbitrarily located point source is investigated theoretically and experimentally. The measured signals correspond well to numerically calculated ones. Focal zone maps of the elements with aperture angles 30 degrees and 60 degrees are presented and discussed; the resolution in direction perpendicular to the imaging plane is determined. Point spread function of the whole array is calculated using experimentally obtained signals from the sources located at different distances from the array. Backprojection algorithm is employed for reconstruction of the optoacoustic images. It is shown that the spatial resolution of the images yielded by the proposed array increases significantly compared to previous transducer designs.
Measurement of the critical fracture strength of single-crystal silicon was carried out by contact-free laser-based excitation and detection of nonlinear surface acoustic wave (SAW) pulses. The three crystallographic geometries Si(112)111[over ], Si(112)1[over ]1[over ]1, and Si(110)11[over ]1 were examined. A comparison of the optically detected SAW transients and numerically calculated stress-strain fields allowed an estimate of the intrinsic mechanical strength without using an artificial precrack. Depending on the geometry, the critical strength varied between 5 and 7 GPa.
Focused ultrasound pulses generated by photoacoustic transformation at a metal surface immersed in water possess a pronounced compression phase on the nanosecond time scale. For 8 ns laser pump pulses, the spectrum of the initially generated ultrasonic pulse covered a frequency range between 0.1 and 150 MHz. A concave spherical geometry of the light-absorbing metal surface can be used to achieve focusing. In the present experiments a conical ultrasound beam was directed at a solid glass plate or silicon wafer, where the tilt of the normal of the metal mirror defined the efficiency of mode conversion at the water-solid interface. Depending on the configuration, focused bulk waves as well as Rayleigh and Lamb waves could be launched in the sample with this setup. The laser probe-beam-deflection method was employed for local detection of elastic disturbances at the sample surface. Due to the nonlinear elastic response of water and harmonics generation, frequencies >100 MHz were realized, despite a strong attenuation in this frequency range. Gradual increase of the laser power density from 5 to 14 MW/cm2 led to shock formation in the compressive pressure pulse in water and shortening of the Rayleigh pulse induced at the surface of the glass plate. The observed transient surface profiles were highly sensitive to nearby mechanical discontinuities such as a microcrack in glass or an edge discontinuity in silicon. Therefore, laser-induced focused ultrasound seems to be a very promising method of accomplishing diverse tasks of nondestructive evaluation.
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