Clinical real-time photoacoustic/ultrasound imaging system at POSTECH

Abstract

We have successfully developed a clinical real-time photoacoustic/ultrasound (PA/US) imaging system. The PA/US imaging system was adapted with a FDA approved commercial US imaging system and a portable pulsed laser system. All image processing and display tasks were performed in real-time by using a graphical processing unit of the US imaging system. We have tested performances of the system by measuring maximum penetration depth, noise equivalent sensitivity, and axial resolution of contrast agent deposited microtubes under chicken breast tissues. By adapting various US transducers (i.e., linear, convex, phased, and endocavity), adaptable capability of the system was verified. In addition, volumetric PA/US imaging was performed by applying a linear scanning along an elevational direction. We have successfully acquired volumetric PA/US images of human forearms in vivo. We believe that the developed clinical real-time PA/US imaging system can be utilized in various preclinical and clinical studies in the near future.