Challenges and advances in two-dimensional photoacoustic computed tomography: a review.

SIGNIFICANCE

Photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT), a hybrid imaging modality combining optical excitation with acoustic detection, has rapidly emerged as a prominent biomedical imaging technique.

AIM

We review the challenges and advances of PACT, including (1) limited view, (2) anisotropy resolution, (3) spatial aliasing, (4) acoustic heterogeneity (speed of sound mismatch), and (5) fluence correction of spectral unmixing.

APPROACH

We performed a comprehensive literature review to summarize the key challenges in PACT toward practical applications and discuss various solutions.

RESULTS

There is a wide range of contributions from both industry and academic spaces. Various approaches, including emerging deep learning methods, are proposed to improve the performance of PACT further.

CONCLUSIONS

We outline contemporary technologies aimed at tackling the challenges in PACT applications.