Compact photoacoustic add-on for a reflectance confocal microscope

Guenther Paltauf; Robert Nuster; Rainer Hofmann-Wellenhof

doi:10.1117/12.2552465

17 February 2020 Compact photoacoustic add-on for a reflectance confocal microscope

Guenther Paltauf, Robert Nuster, Rainer Hofmann-Wellenhof

Proceedings Volume 11240, Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing 2020; 112405D (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2552465
Event: SPIE BiOS, 2020, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) has become a standard method for skin diagnostics. It is based on tightly focusing a continuous laser beam with an objective into the skin and collecting the back scattered light through a pinhole for generating images of selected planes to a depth of several 100 micrometers. For enhancing its diagnostic capability, the RCM can be combined with optical resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM), providing strong optical absorption contrast for melanocytic lesions. We have developed a compact add-on to common optical objectives that is able to detect the photoacoustically generated transients with high bandwidth, using four piezoelectric elements made of poly-vinylidene fluoride (PVDF). The elements are arranged on four quadrants of a conical surface around the objective, taking advantage of the focusing effect of the slightly curved surface. For taking an image, the pulsed and continuous excitation beams are simultaneously scanned over the sample using a pair of galvanometric mirrors. Photoacoustic images of the selected plane are then generated for each separate sensing element and are subsequently added in order to achieve an enhanced signal-to-noise ratio. Simultaneously recorded back scattered light provides the input for the RCM mode. We present a characterization of the sensors and provide experimental results on phantoms.

Citation Download Citation

Guenther Paltauf, Robert Nuster, and Rainer Hofmann-Wellenhof "Compact photoacoustic add-on for a reflectance confocal microscope", Proc. SPIE 11240, Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing 2020, 112405D (17 February 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2552465

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KEYWORDS

Sensors

Microscopes

Ferroelectric polymers

Photoacoustic spectroscopy

Confocal microscopy

Electrodes

Reflectivity

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