Curved array photoacoustic tomographic system for small animal imaging

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Abstract
Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) has emerged as a promising biomedical imaging modality due to its ability to produce ultrasound-resolution images using intrinsic optical contrast.1 As with other modalities, animal models provide a controlled environment for development and evaluation of the technology due to the ability to control the disease stage and perform extensive histological validation. The most common configurations used for PAT investigations involve scanning of a single wideband point detector or highly focused single-element transducer. The sample or detector is rotated to produce a complete 2-D or 3-D measurement surface. Measurement times of minutes to hours are generally required with these approaches, however. Control of animal physiological parameters, motion, and anesthesia during these extended measurement periods can present significant challenges for obtaining quality images. Furthermore, stimulus-response measurements, such as those employed with functional brain imaging, are not realistic without real-time or near-real-time data-acquisition rates.

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