Wellcome / EPSRC Centre for Interventional and Surgical Sciences, University College London, London, UK.
Department of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London, UK.
Sci Rep. 2024 Aug 13;14(1):18779. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-69826-1.
Freehand optical ultrasound (OpUS) imaging is an emerging ultrasound imaging paradigm that uses an array of fibre-optic, photoacoustic ultrasound sources and a single fibre-optic ultrasound detector to perform ultrasound imaging without the need for electrical components in the probe head. Previous freehand OpUS devices have demonstrated capability for real-time, video-rate imaging of clinically relevant targets, but have been hampered by poor ultrasound penetration, significant imaging artefacts and low frame rates, and their designs limited their clinical applicability. In this work we present a novel freehand OpUS imaging platform, including a fully mobile and compact acquisition console and an improved probe design. The novel freehand OpUS probe presented utilises optical waveguides to shape the generated ultrasound fields for improved ultrasound penetration depths, an extended fibre-optic bundle to improve system versatility and an overall ruggedised design with protective elements to improve probe handling and protect the internal optical components. This probe is demonstrated with phantoms and the first multi-participant in vivo imaging study conducted with freehand OpUS imaging probes, this represents several significant steps towards the clinical translation of freehand OpUS imaging.
自由_hand 光声（OpUS）成像是一种新兴的超声成像模式，它使用光纤、光声超声源阵列和单个光纤超声探测器来进行超声成像，而不需要探头中的电子元件。以前的自由_hand OpUS 设备已经证明了能够实时、视频速率地对临床相关目标进行成像，但由于超声穿透性差、显著的成像伪影和低帧率，以及其设计限制了其临床适用性。在这项工作中，我们提出了一种新颖的自由_hand OpUS 成像平台，包括一个完全移动和紧凑的采集控制台和一个改进的探头设计。新型自由_hand OpUS 探头利用光波导来塑造产生的超声场，以提高超声穿透深度，使用扩展的光纤束来提高系统的多功能性，并采用整体坚固耐用的设计和保护元件来提高探头的操作性并保护内部光学元件。该探头在体模和首次使用自由_hand OpUS 成像探头进行的多参与者体内成像研究中得到了验证，这代表着朝着自由_hand OpUS 成像的临床转化迈出了重要的几步。
