Comparison of Piezoelectric and Optical Projection Imaging for Three-Dimensional In Vivo Photoacoustic Tomography

Ultrasound sensor arrays for photoacoustic tomography (PAT) are investigated that create line projections of the pressure generated in an object by pulsed light illumination. Projections over a range of viewing angles enable the reconstruction of a three-dimensional image. Two line-integrating array...

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Main Authors: Robert Nuster, Günther Paltauf
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-01-01
Series:Journal of Imaging
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/2313-433X/5/1/15
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spelling doaj-be0df9ee10994d49a19c75267860053f2020-11-25T00:29:56ZengMDPI AGJournal of Imaging2313-433X2019-01-01511510.3390/jimaging5010015jimaging5010015Comparison of Piezoelectric and Optical Projection Imaging for Three-Dimensional In Vivo Photoacoustic TomographyRobert Nuster0Günther Paltauf1Department of Physics, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, AustriaDepartment of Physics, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, AustriaUltrasound sensor arrays for photoacoustic tomography (PAT) are investigated that create line projections of the pressure generated in an object by pulsed light illumination. Projections over a range of viewing angles enable the reconstruction of a three-dimensional image. Two line-integrating arrays are compared in this study for the in vivo imaging of vasculature, a piezoelectric array, and a camera-based setup that captures snapshots of the acoustic field emanating from the sample. An array consisting of 64 line-shaped sensors made of piezoelectric polymer film, which was arranged on a half-cylindrical area, was used to acquire spatiotemporal data from a human finger. The optical setup used phase contrast to visualize the acoustic field generated in the leg of a mouse after a selected delay time. Time-domain back projection and frequency-domain back propagation were used for image reconstruction from the piezoelectric and optical data, respectively. The comparison yielded an about threefold higher resolution for the optical setup and an about 13-fold higher sensitivity of the piezoelectric array. Due to the high density of data in the camera images, the optical technique gave images without streak artifacts, which were visible in the piezo array images due to the discrete detector positions. Overall, both detection concepts are suited for almost real-time projection imaging and three-dimensional imaging with a data acquisition time of less than a minute without averaging, which was limited by the repetition rate of the laser.http://www.mdpi.com/2313-433X/5/1/15photoacoustic imagingoptoacoustic imagingultrasound arraypiezoelectric polymerphase contrastin vivo imagingprojection imaging
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Robert Nuster
Günther Paltauf
spellingShingle Robert Nuster
Günther Paltauf
Comparison of Piezoelectric and Optical Projection Imaging for Three-Dimensional In Vivo Photoacoustic Tomography
Journal of Imaging
photoacoustic imaging
optoacoustic imaging
ultrasound array
piezoelectric polymer
phase contrast
in vivo imaging
projection imaging
author_facet Robert Nuster
Günther Paltauf
author_sort Robert Nuster
title Comparison of Piezoelectric and Optical Projection Imaging for Three-Dimensional In Vivo Photoacoustic Tomography
title_short Comparison of Piezoelectric and Optical Projection Imaging for Three-Dimensional In Vivo Photoacoustic Tomography
title_full Comparison of Piezoelectric and Optical Projection Imaging for Three-Dimensional In Vivo Photoacoustic Tomography
title_fullStr Comparison of Piezoelectric and Optical Projection Imaging for Three-Dimensional In Vivo Photoacoustic Tomography
title_full_unstemmed Comparison of Piezoelectric and Optical Projection Imaging for Three-Dimensional In Vivo Photoacoustic Tomography
title_sort comparison of piezoelectric and optical projection imaging for three-dimensional in vivo photoacoustic tomography
publisher MDPI AG
series Journal of Imaging
issn 2313-433X
publishDate 2019-01-01
description Ultrasound sensor arrays for photoacoustic tomography (PAT) are investigated that create line projections of the pressure generated in an object by pulsed light illumination. Projections over a range of viewing angles enable the reconstruction of a three-dimensional image. Two line-integrating arrays are compared in this study for the in vivo imaging of vasculature, a piezoelectric array, and a camera-based setup that captures snapshots of the acoustic field emanating from the sample. An array consisting of 64 line-shaped sensors made of piezoelectric polymer film, which was arranged on a half-cylindrical area, was used to acquire spatiotemporal data from a human finger. The optical setup used phase contrast to visualize the acoustic field generated in the leg of a mouse after a selected delay time. Time-domain back projection and frequency-domain back propagation were used for image reconstruction from the piezoelectric and optical data, respectively. The comparison yielded an about threefold higher resolution for the optical setup and an about 13-fold higher sensitivity of the piezoelectric array. Due to the high density of data in the camera images, the optical technique gave images without streak artifacts, which were visible in the piezo array images due to the discrete detector positions. Overall, both detection concepts are suited for almost real-time projection imaging and three-dimensional imaging with a data acquisition time of less than a minute without averaging, which was limited by the repetition rate of the laser.
topic photoacoustic imaging
optoacoustic imaging
ultrasound array
piezoelectric polymer
phase contrast
in vivo imaging
projection imaging
url http://www.mdpi.com/2313-433X/5/1/15
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