Abstract
:Significance: Acoustically detecting the rich optical absorption contrast in biological tissues, photoacoustic tomography (PAT) seamlessly bridges the functional and molecular sensitivity of optical excitation with the deep penetration and high scalability of ultrasound detection. As a result of continuous technological innovations and commercial development, PAT has been playing an increasingly important role in life sciences and patient care, including functional brain imaging, smart drug delivery, early cancer diagnosis, and interventional therapy guidance.Aim: Built on our 2016 tutorial article that focused on the principles and implementations of PAT, this perspective aims to provide an update on the exciting technical advances in PAT.Approach: This perspective focuses on the recent PAT innovations in volumetric deep-tissue imaging, high-speed wide-field microscopic imaging, high-sensitivity optical ultrasound detection, and machine-learning enhanced image reconstruction and data processing. Representative applications are introduced to demonstrate these enabling technical breakthroughs in biomedical research.Conclusions: We conclude the perspective by discussing the future development of PAT technologies.
Highlights
In the recent decade, photoacoustic tomography (PAT, referred to as optoacoustic tomography or thermoacoustic tomography) has emerged as one of the fastest-growing imaging technologies and has become an enabling tool in many fundamental and translational studies, for early cancer diagnosis, functional brain imaging, drug delivery monitoring, and interventional procedure guidance.[1]
The imaging process in PAT typically starts with a short laser pulse that illuminates biological tissue
In our tutorial published in 2016,3 we systematically introduced the foundation of PAT technologies, including the imaging principles from light to sound, the implementations at different length scales, and representative applications in life sciences
Summary
We conclude the perspective by discussing the future development of PAT technologies. Paper 210105-PERR received Apr. 5, 2021; accepted for publication Jun. 17, 2021; published online Jun. 30, 2021
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