Wei Chen-Wei, Nguyen Thu-Mai, Xia Jinjun, Arnal Bastien, Wong Emily Y, Pelivanov Ivan M, O'Donnell Matthew
IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control. 2015 Feb;62(2):319-28. doi: 10.1109/TUFFC.2014.006728.
Because of depth-dependent light attenuation, bulky, low-repetition-rate lasers are usually used in most photoacoustic (PA) systems to provide sufficient pulse energies to image at depth within the body. However, integrating these lasers with real-time clinical ultrasound (US) scanners has been problematic because of their size and cost. In this paper, an integrated PA/US (PAUS) imaging system is presented operating at frame rates >30 Hz. By employing a portable, low-cost, low-pulse-energy (2 mJ/pulse), high-repetition-rate (1 kHz), 1053-nm laser, and a rotating galvo-mirror system enabling rapid laser beam scanning over the imaging area, the approach is demonstrated for potential applications requiring a few centimeters of penetration. In particular, we demonstrate here real-time (30 Hz frame rate) imaging (by combining multiple single-shot sub-images covering the scan region) of an 18-gauge needle inserted into a piece of chicken breast with subsequent delivery of an absorptive agent at more than 1-cm depth to mimic PAUS guidance of an interventional procedure. A signal-to-noise ratio of more than 35 dB is obtained for the needle in an imaging area 2.8 × 2.8 cm (depth × lateral). Higher frame rate operation is envisioned with an optimized scanning scheme.
由于光衰减与深度相关,大多数光声(PA)系统通常使用体积较大、重复频率较低的激光器,以提供足够的脉冲能量来对体内深处进行成像。然而,将这些激光器与实时临床超声(US)扫描仪集成一直存在问题,因为它们的尺寸和成本较高。本文提出了一种帧速率大于30 Hz的集成PA/US(PAUS)成像系统。通过采用便携式、低成本、低脉冲能量(2 mJ/脉冲)、高重复频率(1 kHz)的1053 nm激光器,以及能够在成像区域快速扫描激光束的旋转振镜系统,该方法被证明适用于需要几厘米穿透深度的潜在应用。特别是,我们在此展示了实时(30 Hz帧速率)成像(通过组合覆盖扫描区域的多个单次拍摄子图像),将一根18号针插入一块鸡胸肉中,随后在超过1 cm深度处注入吸收剂,以模拟PAUS对介入手术的引导。在2.8×2.8 cm(深度×横向)的成像区域中,针的信噪比超过35 dB。通过优化扫描方案,可以实现更高的帧速率操作。