Division of Computer Assisted Medical Interventions, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.
Int J Comput Assist Radiol Surg. 2021 Jul;16(7):1101-1110. doi: 10.1007/s11548-021-02399-w. Epub 2021 May 16.
Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) is a novel imaging technique that can spatially resolve both morphological and functional tissue properties, such as vessel topology and tissue oxygenation. While this capacity makes PAT a promising modality for the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of various diseases, a current drawback is the limited field of view provided by the conventionally applied 2D probes.
In this paper, we present a novel approach to 3D reconstruction of PAT data (Tattoo tomography) that does not require an external tracking system and can smoothly be integrated into clinical workflows. It is based on an optical pattern placed on the region of interest prior to image acquisition. This pattern is designed in a way that a single tomographic image of it enables the recovery of the probe pose relative to the coordinate system of the pattern, which serves as a global coordinate system for image compounding.
To investigate the feasibility of Tattoo tomography, we assessed the quality of 3D image reconstruction with experimental phantom data and in vivo forearm data. The results obtained with our prototype indicate that the Tattoo method enables the accurate and precise 3D reconstruction of PAT data and may be better suited for this task than the baseline method using optical tracking.
In contrast to previous approaches to 3D ultrasound (US) or PAT reconstruction, the Tattoo approach neither requires complex external hardware nor training data acquired for a specific application. It could thus become a valuable tool for clinical freehand PAT.
光声断层扫描（PAT）是一种新型成像技术，可空间分辨形态和功能组织特性，如血管拓扑结构和组织氧合。虽然这种能力使 PAT 成为诊断、治疗和随访各种疾病的一种很有前途的方式，但目前的一个缺点是传统应用的 2D 探头提供的视场有限。
在本文中，我们提出了一种新的 PAT 数据三维重建方法（纹身断层扫描），它不需要外部跟踪系统，可以平滑地集成到临床工作流程中。它基于在图像采集之前放置在感兴趣区域的光学图案。该图案的设计方式使得对其进行单次层析成像就能够恢复探头相对于图案坐标系的姿态，该坐标系作为图像合成的全局坐标系。
为了研究纹身断层扫描的可行性，我们使用实验性体模数据和体内前臂数据评估了三维图像重建的质量。我们的原型的结果表明，纹身方法能够实现 PAT 数据的精确三维重建，并且可能比使用光学跟踪的基线方法更适合这项任务。
与以前的三维超声（US）或 PAT 重建方法相比，纹身方法既不需要复杂的外部硬件，也不需要针对特定应用获取训练数据。因此，它可能成为临床自由手 PAT 的有用工具。
