Significance: Photoacoustic (PA) tomography has demonstrated versatile biomedical applications. However, an array-based PA computed tomography (PACT) system is complex and expensive, whereas a single-element detector-based scanning PA system is too slow to detect some fast biological dynamics in vivo. New PA imaging methods are sought after.

Aim: To overcome these limitations, we developed photoacoustic topography through an ergodic relay (PATER), a novel high-speed imaging system with a single-element detector.

Approach: PATER images widefield PA signals encoded by the acoustic ergodic relay with a single-laser shot.

Results: We applied PATER in vivo to monitor changes in oxygen saturation in a mouse brain and also to demonstrate high-speed matching of vascular patterns for biometric authentication.

Conclusions: PATER has achieved a high-speed temporal resolution over a large field of view. Our results suggest that PATER is a promising and economical alternative to PACT for fast imaging.