Abstract

Aiming at clinical translation, we developed an automatic 3D imaging system combining the emerging photoacoustic imaging with conventional Doppler ultrasound for detecting inflammatory arthritis. This system was built with a GE HealthCare (GEHC) Vivid™ E95 ultrasound system and a Universal Robot UR3 robotic arm. In this work, the performance of this system was examined with a longitudinal study utilizing a clinically relevant adjuvant induced arthritis (AIA) murine model. After adjuvant injection, daily imaging of the rat ankle joints was conducted until joint inflammation was obvious based on visual inspection. Processed imaging results and statistical analyses indicated that both the hyperemia (enhanced blood volume) detected by photoacoustic imaging and the enhanced blood flow detected by Doppler ultrasound reflected the progress of joint inflammation. However, photoacoustic imaging, by leveraging the highly sensitive optical contrast, detected inflammation earlier than Doppler ultrasound, and also showed changes that are more statistically significant. This side-by-side comparison between photoacoustic imaging and Doppler ultrasound using the same commercial grade GEHC ultrasound machine demonstrates the advantage and potential value of the emerging photoacoustic imaging for rheumatology clinical care of arthritis.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.