Programmable Real-time Clinical Photoacoustic and Ultrasound Imaging System.

Yumiao Zhang,Jonathan F. Lovell,Sara Park,Chulhong Kim,Jeesu Kim,Yuhan Jung,Jinyong Park,Sunyeob Chang

doi:10.1038/srep35137

Abstract

Photoacoustic imaging has attracted interest for its capacity to capture functional spectral information with high spatial and temporal resolution in biological tissues. Several photoacoustic imaging systems have been commercialized recently, but they are variously limited by non-clinically relevant designs, immobility, single anatomical utility (e.g., breast only), or non-programmable interfaces. Here, we present a real-time clinical photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging system which consists of an FDA-approved clinical ultrasound system integrated with a portable laser. The system is completely programmable, has an intuitive user interface, and can be adapted for different applications by switching handheld imaging probes with various transducer types. The customizable photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging system is intended to meet the diverse needs of medical researchers performing both clinical and preclinical photoacoustic studies.

Highlights

Because the signal reception mechanism of PAI is identical to that of USI, they can share an ultrasound (US) receiving system and transducer, so it is straightforward to adapt these two imaging modalities into an integrated imaging system[11,12,13]
We report a real-time clinical PA and US imaging (PAUSI) system which consists of an FDA approved programmable clinical ultrasound machine and a portable laser system
The system consists of an FDA approved commercial programmable US machine (EC-12R, Alpinion Medical Systems, Republic of Korea) and a portable pulsed laser system (Phocus, OPOTEK, USA)

Summary

Introduction

Because the signal reception mechanism of PAI is identical to that of USI, they can share an ultrasound (US) receiving system and transducer, so it is straightforward to adapt these two imaging modalities into an integrated imaging system[11,12,13]. PAI and USI can respectively provide complementary information about functional optical absorption spectra and acoustical morphological structure in biological tissues This complementary information from the integrated PA and US imaging (PAUSI) system can enhance diagnostic accuracy and benefit patients by reducing the time, discomfort, and cost of diagnosis and treatment. The LOUISA 3D (TomoWave, USA)[24,25,26], PA mammography device (Canon, Japan)[27,28,29,30], Twente Photoacoustic Mammoscope (University of Twente, Nederland)[31,32], and Imagio (Seno Medical Instruments, USA)[33] are designed for breast cancer research, and to visualize vasculature, skin, or tumors using an arc-shaped, hemispherical, flat, and linear array transducer, respectively. A programmable and clinically-ready research platform with switchable handheld probes makes this system directly suitable for studying various clinical concerns, such as thyroidal, hepatic, cardiac, intestinal, and ovarian diseases

Methods

Results

Conclusion