Department of Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2010 Aug;57(8):1835-8. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2010.2043103. Epub 2010 Feb 18.
Photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) is a high-contrast, high-resolution imaging modality, used primarily for imaging hemoglobin and melanin. Important applications include mapping of the microvasculature and melanoma tumor margins. We demonstrate a novel PAM design that markedly simplifies the implementation by separating the optical illumination from the acoustic detection path. This modification enables the use of high-quality commercial optics and transducers, and may be readily adapted to commercial light microscopes. The designed PAM system is only sensitive to signals generated in the overlap of the illumination and detection solid angles, providing the additional benefit of quasi-dark-field detection. An off-axis PAM system with a lateral resolution of 26 microm and a modest axial resolution of 410 microm has been assembled and characterized using tissue samples. The axial resolution is readily scaled down to tens of micrometers within the same design, by utilizing commercially available high-frequency acoustic transducers.
光声显微镜（PAM）是一种高对比度、高分辨率的成像方式，主要用于成像血红蛋白和黑色素。重要的应用包括微血管和黑色素瘤肿瘤边界的测绘。我们展示了一种新颖的 PAM 设计，通过将光学照明与声学检测路径分开，显著简化了实现过程。这种改进使得可以使用高质量的商业光学元件和换能器，并且可以很容易地适应商业显微镜。设计的 PAM 系统仅对在照明和检测立体角重叠处产生的信号敏感，提供了准暗场检测的额外好处。已经组装并使用组织样本对具有 26 微米横向分辨率和 410 微米适度轴向分辨率的离轴 PAM 系统进行了表征。通过利用商业上可用的高频声学换能器，在相同的设计中可以很容易地将轴向分辨率降低到数十微米。
