Adding fifth dimension to optoacoustic imaging: volumetric time-resolved spectrally enriched tomography

Abstract

Optoacoustics provides a unique set of capabilities for bioimaging, associated with the intrinsic combination of ultrasound-and light-related advantages, such as high spatial and temporal resolution as well as powerful spectrally enriched imaging contrast in biological tissues. We demonstrate here, for the first time, the acquisition, processing and visualization of five-dimensional optoacoustic data, thus offering unparallel imaging capacities among the current bioimaging modalities. The newly discovered performance is enabled by simultaneous volumetric detection and processing of multispectral data and is further showcased here by attaining time-resolved volumetric blood oxygenation maps in deep human vessels and real-time tracking of contrast agent distribution in a murine model in vivo.

Universal Hand-held Three-dimensional Optoacoustic Imaging Probe for Deep Tissue Human Angiography and Functional Preclinical Studies in Real Time

“…Specifically, measurements were performed by scanning the probe along the wrist of a healthy volunteer having blood vessels with different sizes and oxygen saturation levels as well as a melanin-rich skin pigmentation 10 . A 50 Hz pulse repetition rate laser with a wavelength-tuning capability in a per-pulse basis was employed in this case.…”

“…In particular, the capacity to image spectrally distinctive photo-absorbing agents with high spatio-temporal resolution at depths far beyond the diffusive limit of light opens unprecedented capabilities for functional and molecular imaging [6][7][8][9][10] . Indeed, translation of the optoacoustic technology into clinical practice comes with promising prospects in diagnostics and treatment monitoring of many diseases.…”

Noninvasive Real-Time Visualization of Multiple Cerebral Hemodynamic Parameters in Whole Mouse Brains Using Five-Dimensional Optoacoustic Tomography

“…More importantly, multispectral measurements have not yet been exploited to their full potential in simultaneous monitoring of multiple hemodynamic parameters. In this work, we show unprecedented performance in volumetric imaging of spectrally-distinctive absorbers and fast hemodynamic changes in the brain using fully noninvasive acquisition of 1 five-dimensional (5D) optoacoustic data (with 5D being three spatial dimensions, time, and multispectral information 12 ). In particular, it is made possible, for the first time to our knowledge, to record and simultaneously quantify blood oxygenation (SO 2 ), total hemoglobin (HbT), and CBV in deep brain structures and in real time.…”

Intracerebral haemorrhage-induced injury progression assessed by cross-sectional photoacoustic tomography

“…It can be readily integrated into a multi-modal imaging system with ultrasound (US) and/or diffuse optical tomography (DOT) [19][20][21], offering more informed diagnosis of diseases. Furthermore, it is compatible with handheld operation, facilitating clinical translation with transducer array [23].…”

“…It combines the advantages of optical contrast and acoustic detection, and holds great promise for small-animal imaging [13]. Previous works showed that PAT has great potential in various biological and medical applications such as vasculature visualization [14][15][16][17], arthritis diagnosis [20,21], neuroimaging [23,24].Our own previous work indicated that widely adopted horizontal plane PAT is a powerful tool to detect ICH morphology in small animals [17].…”