Yao Junjie, Wang Lihong V
Optical Imaging Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, USA.
Neurophotonics. 2014 May 28;1(1). doi: 10.1117/1.NPh.1.1.011003.
Human brain mapping has become one of the most exciting contemporary research areas, with major breakthroughs expected in the following decades. Modern brain imaging techniques have allowed neuroscientists to gather a wealth of anatomic and functional information about the brain. Among these techniques, by virtue of its rich optical absorption contrast, high spatial and temporal resolutions, and deep penetration, photoacoustic tomography (PAT) has attracted more and more attention, and is playing an increasingly important role in brain studies. In particular, PAT complements other brain imaging modalities by providing high-resolution functional and metabolic imaging. More importantly, PAT's unique scalability enables scrutinizing the brain at both microscopic and macroscopic scales, using the same imaging contrast. In this Review, we present the state-of-the-art PAT techniques for brain imaging, summarize representative neuroscience applications, outline the technical challenges in translating PAT to human brain imaging, and envision potential technological deliverables.
人类脑图谱已成为当代最令人兴奋的研究领域之一，预计在未来几十年会取得重大突破。现代脑成像技术使神经科学家能够收集到大量有关大脑的解剖学和功能信息。在这些技术中，光声断层扫描（PAT）凭借其丰富的光吸收对比度、高空间和时间分辨率以及深层穿透能力，吸引了越来越多的关注，并在脑研究中发挥着越来越重要的作用。特别是，PAT通过提供高分辨率的功能和代谢成像，对其他脑成像方式起到了补充作用。更重要的是，PAT独特的可扩展性能够使用相同的成像对比度在微观和宏观尺度上仔细研究大脑。在本综述中，我们介绍了用于脑成像的最新PAT技术，总结了具有代表性的神经科学应用，概述了将PAT转化为人类脑成像所面临的技术挑战，并展望了潜在的技术成果。
