Photoacoustic contrast enhancement using selective subband imaging: experimental results

Chen-Wei Wei; Yae-lin Sheu; Pai-Chi Li

doi:10.1117/12.701745

13 February 2007 Photoacoustic contrast enhancement using selective subband imaging: experimental results

Chen-Wei Wei, Yae-lin Sheu, Pai-Chi Li

Proceedings Volume 6437, Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing 2007: The Eighth Conference on Biomedical Thermoacoustics, Optoacoustics, and Acousto-optics; 64370I (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.701745
Event: SPIE BiOS, 2007, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

In photoacoustic imaging, the difference of optical absorption determines the contrast between two media. In this study, a contrast enhancement method based on choosing various frequency subbands for photoacoustic imaging is proposed. Typically, a laser beam irradiates a medium of interest, and the optical energy decays with different rates as the optical absorption changes. The decay profiles result in acoustic pressure waveforms to propagate with various frequency components, which cause the acoustic frequency variation. The frequency band for a medium with high absorption is found significantly up-shifted from that for a medium with one order lower absorption. Accordingly, besides the amplitude difference due to the absorption, the contrast between two media with varied absorption can be further enhanced by choosing a high frequency band of the receiving signals for imaging. This method was demonstrated by simulations and experiments. The simulation, which is based on the Beer-Lambert law, verified the appearance of frequency variation due to the disparity of absorption coefficients. The experiments were performed by using agar phantom with various concentrations of graphite to create optical absorptions with more than tens times difference. For absorbers with absorption coefficients from 2.5 cm^-1 to 100 cm^-1, the peak frequencies and the -6 dB bandwidths of the PA signals increase from 1.17 to 3.83 MHz and from 2.17 to 7.58 MHz, respectively. The subband image at band 7-14 MHz shows 13-25 dB intensity difference between two agars with respective absorption of 41.75 cm^-1 and 5.01 cm^-1, while the difference is 9-15 dB at band 0-7 MHz, thus demonstrating that the contrast can be enhanced between two media using the selective subband imaging. The potential of improving the contrast between biological tissues and contrast agent with a significant higher absorption is revealed.

Citation Download Citation

Chen-Wei Wei, Yae-lin Sheu, and Pai-Chi Li "Photoacoustic contrast enhancement using selective subband imaging: experimental results", Proc. SPIE 6437, Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing 2007: The Eighth Conference on Biomedical Thermoacoustics, Optoacoustics, and Acousto-optics, 64370I (13 February 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.701745

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