To achieve real-time photoacoustic tomography (PAT), massive transducer arrays and data acquisition (DAQ) electronics are needed to receive the PA signals simultaneously, which results in complex and high-cost ultrasound receiver systems. To address this issue, we have developed a new PA data acquisition approach using acoustic time delay. Optical fibers were used as parallel acoustic delay lines (PADLs) to create different time delays in multiple channels of PA signals. This makes the PA signals reach a single-element transducer at different times. As a result, they can be properly received by single-channel DAQ electronics. However, due to their small diameter and fragility, using optical fiber as acoustic delay lines poses a number of challenges in the design, construction and packaging of the PADLs, thereby limiting their performances and use in real imaging applications. In this paper, we report the development of new silicon PADLs, which are directly made from silicon wafers using advanced micromachining technologies. The silicon PADLs have very low acoustic attenuation and distortion. A linear array of 16 silicon PADLs were assembled into a handheld package with one common input port and one common output port. To demonstrate its real-time PAT capability, the silicon PADL array (with its output port interfaced with a single-element transducer) was used to receive 16 channels of PA signals simultaneously from a tissue-mimicking optical phantom sample. The reconstructed PA image matches well with the imaging target. Therefore, the silicon PADL array can provide a 16× reduction in the ultrasound DAQ channels for real-time PAT.
The development of the first miniaturized parallel acoustic delay line (PADL) probe for handheld photoacoustic tomography (PAT) is reported. Using fused-silica optical fibers with low acoustic attenuation, we constructed two arrays of eight PADLs. Precision laser micromachining was conducted to produce robust and accurate mechanical support and alignment structures for the PADLs, with minimal acoustic distortion and interchannel coupling. The 16 optical-fiber PADLs, each with a different time delay, were arranged to form one input port and two output ports. A handheld PADL probe was constructed using two single-element transducers and two data acquisition channels (equal to a channel reduction ratio of 8∶1). Photoacoustic (PA) images of a black-ink target embedded in an optically scattering phantom were successfully acquired. After traveling through the PADLs, the eight channels of differently time-delayed PA signals reached each single-element ultrasonic transducer in a designated nonoverlapping time series, allowing clear signal separation for PA image reconstruction. Our results show that the PADL technique and the handheld probe can potentially enable real-time PAT, while significantly reducing the complexity and cost of the ultrasound receiver system.
KEYWORDS: Optical fibers, Acoustics, Ultrasonography, Transducers, Data acquisition, Signal detection, Acquisition tracking and pointing, Photoacoustic tomography, Signal attenuation, Distortion
In current photoacoustic tomography (PAT), l-D or 2-D ultrasound arrays and multi-channel data acquisition (DAQ) electronics are used to detect the photoacoustic signals simultaneously for “real-time” image construction. However, as the number of transducer elements and DAQ channels increase, the construction and operation of the ultrasound receiving system will become complex and costly. This situation can be addressed by using parallel acoustic delay lines (PADLs) to create true time delays in multiple PA signal channels. The time-delayed PA signals will reach the ultrasound transducer at different times and therefore can be received by one single-element transducer without mixing with each other. In this paper, we report the development of the first miniaturized PADL probe suitable for handheld operations. Fusedsilica optical fibers with low acoustic attenuation were used to construct the 16 PADLs with specific time delays. The handheld probe structure was fabricated using precision laser-micromachining process to provide robust mechanical support and accurate alignment of the PADLs with minimal acoustic distortion and inter-channel coupling. The 16 optical-fiber PADLs were arranged to form one input port and two output ports. Photoacoustic imaging of a black-ink target embedded in an optically-scattering phantom was successfully conducted using the handheld PADL probe with two single-element transducers and two DAQ channels (equal to a channel reduction ratio of 8:1). Our results show that the PADL technique and the handheld probe could provide a promising solution for real-time PAT with significantly reduced complexity and cost of the ultrasound receiver system.
Achieving real-time photoacoustic (PA) tomography typically requires massive ultrasound transducer arrays and data
acquisition (DAQ) electronics to receive PA waves simultaneously. In this paper, we report the first demonstration of a
photoacoustic tomography (PAT) system using optical fiber-based parallel acoustic delay lines (PADLs). By employing
PADLs to introduce specific time delays, the PA signals (on the order of a few micro seconds) can be forced to arrive at
the ultrasonic transducers at different times. As a result, time-delayed PA signals in multiple channels can be ultimately
received and processed in a serial manner with a single-element transducer, followed by single‐channel DAQ electronics. Our results show that an optically absorbing target in an optically scattering medium can be photoacoustically imaged using the newly developed PADL-based PAT system. Potentially, this approach could be adopted to significantly reduce the complexity and cost of ultrasonic array receiver systems.
In current photoacoustic tomography (PAT) systems, ultrasound transducer arrays and multi-channel data acquisition (DAQ) electronics are used to receive the PA signals. To achieve real-time PA imaging, massive 1D or even 2D transducer arrays and large number of DAQ channels are necessary. As a result, the ultrasound receiver becomes very complex, bulky and also costly. In this paper, we report the development of novel micromachined silicon acoustic delay line systems, which are expected to provide a new approach to address the above issue. First, fundamental building block structures of the acoustic delay line systems were designed and fabricated. Their acoustic properties were characterized with ultrasound and photoacoustic measurements. Second, two different acoustic delay line systems (parallel and serial) were designed and fabricated using advanced micromachining processes to ensure compact size, high accuracy, and good repeatability. The transmission of multiple acoustic signals in the acoustic delay line systems were studied with ultrasound experiment. Experimental results show that the silicon acoustic delay line systems can guide multiple channels of acoustic signals with low loss and distortion. With the addition of a set of suitable time delays, the time-delay acoustic signals arrived at a single-element transducer at different times and were unambiguously received and processed by the following DAQ electronics. Therefore, the micromachined silicon acoustic delay line systems could be used to combine multiple signal channels into a single one (without the involvement of electronic multiplexing), thereby reducing the complexity and cost of the ultrasound receiver for real-time PAT application.
Achieving real-time photoacoustic (PA) tomography typically requires multi-element ultrasound transducer arrays and their associated multiple data acquisition (DAQ) electronics to receive PA waves simultaneously. We report the first demonstration of a photoacoustic tomography (PAT) system using optical fiber-based parallel acoustic delay lines (PADLs). By employing PADLs to introduce specific time delays, the PA signals (on the order of a few micro seconds) can be forced to arrive at the ultrasonic transducers at different times. As a result, time-delayed PA signals in multiple channels can be ultimately received and processed in a serial manner with a single-element transducer, followed by single-channel DAQ electronics. Our results show that an optically absorbing target in an optically scattering medium can be photoacoustically imaged using the newly developed PADL-based PAT system. Potentially, this approach could be adopted to significantly reduce the complexity and cost of ultrasonic array receiver systems.
In surgical treatment of pancreatic cancers, the effectiveness of the procedures largely depends on the ability to
completely and precisely remove the malignant tumors. We present the ex-vivo use of oblique incidence diffuse
reflectance spectroscopy (OIRDS) to detect and differentiate normal from neoplastic tissue. An OIRDS probe has been
constructed to provide scattering and absorption information of the pancreatic tissue. To reveal the physiological origin
of the difference in these optical signatures, the optical scattering coefficients were extracted along the pancreatic duct
with 1-cm spacing. Experimental results show that OIDRS was able to successfully determinate the tumor margins
based on the higher optical scattering on malignant tissue.
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