Department of Opthalmology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA.
Appl Spectrosc. 2013 Jan;67(1):22-8. doi: 10.1366/11-06562.
Optoacoustic imaging is an emerging medical technology that uniquely combines the absorption contrast of optical imaging and the penetration depth of ultrasound. While it is not currently employed as a clinical imaging modality, the results of current research strongly support the use of optoacoustic-based methods in medical imaging. One such application is the diagnosis of the presence of soft tissue foreign bodies. Because many radiolucent foreign bodies have sufficient contrast for imaging in the optical domain, laser-induced optoacoustic imaging could be advantageous for the detection of such objects. Common foreign bodies have been scanned over a range of visible and near infrared wavelengths by using an optoacoustic method to obtain the spectroscopic properties of the materials commonly associated with these foreign bodies. The derived optical absorption spectra compared quite closely to the absorption spectra generated when using a conventional spectrophotometer. By using the probe-beam deflection technique, a novel, pressure-wave detection method, we successfully generated optoacoustic spectroscopic plots of a wooden foreign body embedded in a tissue phantom, which closely resembled the spectrum of the same object obtained in isolation. A practical application of such spectra is to assemble a library of spectroscopic data for radiolucent materials, from which specific characteristic wavelengths can be selected for use in optimizing imaging instrumentation and provide a basis for the identification of the material properties of particular foreign bodies.
光声成像是一种新兴的医学技术，它独特地结合了光学成象的吸收对比和超声的穿透深度。虽然它目前还没有被用作临床成像方式，但目前的研究结果强烈支持在医学成像中使用基于光声的方法。其中一种应用是诊断软组织异物的存在。由于许多非放射性的异物在光学域中有足够的对比度进行成像，因此激光诱导的光声成象对于检测这些物体可能是有利的。已经使用光声方法对常见的异物进行了一系列可见和近红外波长的扫描，以获得与这些异物相关的材料的光谱特性。所得到的光吸收光谱与使用传统分光光度计产生的吸收光谱非常接近。通过使用探针光束偏转技术，一种新颖的压力波检测方法，我们成功地生成了嵌入在组织模拟物中的木制异物的光声光谱图，该光谱图与单独获得的相同物体的光谱非常相似。这种光谱的一个实际应用是为非放射性材料组装一个光谱数据的库，从中可以选择特定的特征波长，用于优化成像仪器，并为特定异物的材料特性的识别提供基础。
