IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2022 Sep;69(9):2817-2825. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2022.3154754. Epub 2022 Aug 19.
Two-dimensional (2D) photoacoustic (PA) imaging based on array transducers provide high spatial resolution in the lateral direction by adopting receive dynamic focusing. However, the quality of PA image is often deteriorated by poor elevational resolution which is achieved by an acoustic lens. To overcome this limitation, we present a three-dimensional (3D) image reconstruction method using a commercial one-dimensional (1D) array transducer.
In the method, the elevational resolution is improved by applying synthetic aperture focusing (SAF) technique along the elevational direction. For this, a commercially available 1D array transducer with an acoustic lens is modeled and appropriate synthetic focusing delay that can minimize the effect of the acoustic lens is derived by mathematical analysis.
From the simulation and experiment results, it was demonstrated that the proposed method can enhance the image quality of PA imaging, i.e., elevational resolution and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
3D PA images with improved elevational resolution were achieved using a clinical 1D array transducer.
The presented method may be useful for clinical application such as detecting microcalcification, imaging of tumor vasculature and guidance of biopsy in real time.
基于阵列换能器的二维（2D）光声（PA）成像是通过采用接收动态聚焦来获得高横向空间分辨率。然而，由于声透镜实现的较差的轴向分辨率，PA 图像的质量往往会恶化。为了克服这一限制，我们提出了一种使用商业一维（1D）阵列换能器的三维（3D）图像重建方法。
在该方法中，通过在轴向方向上应用合成孔径聚焦（SAF）技术来提高轴向分辨率。为此，对具有声透镜的商业上可用的 1D 阵列换能器进行建模，并通过数学分析推导出可以最小化声透镜影响的适当的合成聚焦延迟。
从模拟和实验结果表明，所提出的方法可以增强 PA 成像的图像质量，即轴向分辨率和信噪比（SNR）。
使用临床 1D 阵列换能器实现了具有改进轴向分辨率的 3D PA 图像。
所提出的方法可能对临床应用有用，例如实时检测微钙化、肿瘤血管成像和活检引导。
