Abstract
Fast signal processing and real-time displays are essential for practical imaging modality in various fields of applications. However, the imaging speed in optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM), in particular, depends on factors such as the pulse repetition rate of the laser, scanning method, field of view (FOV), and signal processing time. In the past, efforts to increase acquisition speed either focused on developing new scanning methods or using lasers with higher pulse repetition rates. However, high-speed signal processing is also important for real-time volumetric display in OR-PAM. In this study, we carried out parallel signal processing using a graphics processing unit (GPU) to enable fast signal processing and wide-field real-time displays in laser-scanning OR-PAM. The average total GPU processing time for a B-mode PAM image was approximately 1.35 ms at a display speed of 480 fps when the data samples were acquired with 736 (axial) × 500 (lateral) points/B-mode-frame at a pulse repetition rate of 300 kHz. In addition, we successfully displayed maximum amplitude projection images of a mouse's ear as volumetric images with an FOV of 3 mm × 3 mm (500 × 500 pixels) at 1.02 s, corresponding to 0.98 fps.
Highlights
Photoacoustic imaging is widely used as a noninvasive imaging technology that can be combined with optical absorption contrast and ultrasound spatial resolution for structural, functional, and molecular imaging [1,2,3]
Optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM), which was first introduced by Maslov et al [4], can provide capillary-level spatial resolution as a result of its tightly focused micron-scale laser spot size
The imaging speed in optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM) depends on factors such as the pulse repetition rate of the laser, scanning methods, field of view (FOV), and signal processing time
Summary
Photoacoustic imaging is widely used as a noninvasive imaging technology that can be combined with optical absorption contrast and ultrasound spatial resolution for structural, functional, and molecular imaging [1,2,3]. Optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM), which was first introduced by Maslov et al [4], can provide capillary-level spatial resolution as a result of its tightly focused micron-scale laser spot size. The imaging speed in OR-PAM depends on factors such as the pulse repetition rate of the laser, scanning methods, field of view (FOV), and signal processing time. Since the commercialization of nanosecond pulsed lasers with a few kilohertz to a few hundred kilohertz repetition rates, several groups have actively studied methods of accelerating the imaging acquisition speed and obtaining maximum amplitude projection (MAP) images with wide FOVs as volumetric images
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