Kalva Sandeep Kumar, Liu Xiang, Deán-Ben Xosé Luís, Tang Lin, Razansky Daniel
University of Zurich, Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, Zurich, Switzerland.
ETH Zurich, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, Zurich, Switzerland.
J Biomed Opt. 2025 Apr;30(4):040501. doi: 10.1117/1.JBO.30.4.040501. Epub 2025 Apr 11.
Optoacoustic tomography systems commonly employ bulky and expensive solid-state laser sources readily capable of generating dozens of millijoules of optical energy per pulse. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) may offer a significantly more affordable and compact solution with excellent pulse-to-pulse stability. Yet, the optical design must optimize the energy density delivered to the target, given the relatively low per-pulse energy output of LEDs.
We exploit a full-view LED-based optoacoustic tomography (FLOAT) configuration for imaging of mice.
The system features panoramic light illumination delivering 0.48 mJ of total per-pulse energy with an array of 160 LEDs stacked into a cylindrically focused circular ultrasound array transducer.
We characterize the imaging performance of the FLOAT system in tissue-mimicking phantoms, subsequently demonstrating its ability for cross-sectional mouse imaging.
It is anticipated that the compact, low-cost FLOAT imaging system will open up new venues in resource-limited settings for studying large-scale biodynamics such as pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of molecular agents and drugs on a whole-body level.
光声断层扫描系统通常采用体积庞大且昂贵的固态激光源，这些激光源能够轻松地每脉冲产生数十毫焦的光能。发光二极管（LED）可能提供一种价格更为亲民且紧凑的解决方案，具有出色的脉冲间稳定性。然而，鉴于LED每脉冲的能量输出相对较低，光学设计必须优化传递到目标的能量密度。
我们利用基于全视角LED的光声断层扫描（FLOAT）配置对小鼠进行成像。
该系统具有全景光照明，通过将160个LED组成的阵列堆叠成圆柱形聚焦圆形超声阵列换能器，每脉冲提供0.48 mJ的总能量。
我们在组织模拟体模中表征了FLOAT系统的成像性能，随后展示了其对小鼠进行横断面成像的能力。
预计这种紧凑、低成本的FLOAT成像系统将在资源有限的环境中开辟新的途径，用于在全身水平上研究大规模生物动力学，如分子试剂和药物的药代动力学和生物分布。
