823 results about "Photoacoustic imaging in biomedicine" patented technology

In one aspect, the invention relates to a probe. The probe includes a sheath, a flexible, bi-directionally rotatable, optical subsystem positioned within the sheath, the optical subsystem comprising a transmission fiber, the optical subsystem capable of transmitting and collecting light of a predetermined range of wavelengths along a first beam having a predetermined beam size. The probe also includes an ultrasound subsystem, the ultrasound subsystem positioned within the sheath and adapted to propagate energy of a predetermined range of frequencies along a second beam having a second predetermined beam size, wherein a portion of the first and second beams overlap a region during a scan.

A photoacoustic imaging apparatus is provided for medical or other imaging applications and also a method for calibrating this apparatus. The apparatus employs a sparse array of transducer elements and a reconstruction algorithm. Spatial calibration maps of the sparse array are used to optimize the reconstruction algorithm. The apparatus includes a laser producing a pulsed laser beam to illuminate a subject for imaging and generate photoacoustic waves. The transducers are fixedly mounted on a holder so as to form the sparse array. A photoacoustic (PA) waves are received by each transducer. The resultant analog signals from each transducer are amplified, filtered, and converted to digital signals in parallel by a data acquisition system which is operatively connected to a computer. The computer receives the digital signals and processes the digital signals by the algorithm based on iterative forward projection and back-projection in order to provide the image.

In one aspect, the invention relates to a probe. The probe includes a sheath, a flexible, bi-directionally rotatable, optical subsystem positioned within the sheath, the optical subsystem comprising a transmission fiber, the optical subsystem capable of transmitting and collecting light of a predetermined range of wavelengths along a first beam having a predetermined beam size. The probe also includes an ultrasound subsystem, the ultrasound subsystem positioned within the sheath and adapted to propagate energy of a predetermined range of frequencies along a second beam having a second predetermined beam size, wherein a portion of the first and second beams overlap a region during a scan.

A design and a fabrication method for an intravascular imaging and therapeutic catheters for combined ultrasound, photoacoustic, and elasticity imaging and for optical and / or acoustic therapy of hollow organs and diseased blood vessels and tissues are disclosed in the present invention. The invention comprises both a device—optical fiber-based intravascular catheter designs for combined IVUS / IVPA, and elasticity imaging and for acoustic and / or optical therapy—and a method of combined ultrasound, photoacoustic, and elasticity imaging and optical and / or acoustic therapy. The designs of the catheters are based on single-element catheter-based ultrasound transducers or on ultrasound array-based units coupled with optical fiber, fiber bundles or a combination thereof with specially designed light delivery systems. One approach uses the side fire fiber, similar to the one utilized for biomedical optical spectroscopy. The second catheter design uses the micro-optics in the manner of a probe for optical coherent tomography.

A photoacoustic medical imaging device may include a substrate, an array of ultrasonic transducers on the substrate, at least one groove etched on the substrate, at least one optical fiber, and at least one facet. Each optical fiber is disposed in one of the grooves. Each facet is etched in one of the grooves and coated with a layer of metal having high infrared reflectivity. Each optical fiber is configured to guide infrared light from a light source through the fiber and toward the respective facet. The facet is configured to reflect the infrared light toward a target.

A photoacoustic imaging device includes an array of light sources configured and arranged to illuminate a target region and an array of ultrasonic transducers between the array of light sources and the target region. The array of transducers may be fixedly coupled to the array of light sources, and the array of ultrasonic transducers may be configured and arranged to receive ultrasound transmissions from the target region.

Various embodiments of the present invention provide for a photoacoustic imaging probe for use in a photoacoustic imaging system, whereby the probe is comprised of a cohesive composite, acoustic lens incorporating aspheric geometry and exhibiting low or practically no measurable dispersion of acoustic waves constructed of at least one material with a low acoustic impedance and attenuation and a relatively low acoustic velocity and at least one other material with a low acoustic impedance and attenuation and a relatively high acoustic velocity. The probe is housed in a conduit filled with a low acoustic velocity and low acoustic impedance fluid such as water or mineral oil. The lens may be designed as a telecentric lens, an acoustic zoom lens, a catadioptric lens, or a reflective lens. The lens focuses acoustic waves on an acoustic imager which detects the image. The acoustic imager may be designed as a 2 dimensional array of transducers. Research to date indicates that within the range of acoustic frequencies of interest, 1 MHz-50 MHz and preferable 2 MHz-10 MHz, there exists little velocity variation within the materials of interest, and the lens design approach may currently be considered to be essentially monochromatic. The acoustic waves can be generated when an emitting light source illuminates a test subject comprising materials that generate acoustic waves at differing intensities and / or frequencies when illuminated with light, for example tissue containing blood vessels, wherein the blood vessels excite and generate an acoustic pulse. The probe has an acoustic window made of a material with low acoustic impedance which allows the acoustic pulse to enter the probe without distortion and then may be reflected by a mirror onto the acoustic lens. The probe may include the emitting light source and an optical window to allow light emitting from said light source to illuminate the test subject.

The invention discloses an internal rectal optical, optoacoustic and ultrasonic multimode imaging endoscope which comprises a sleeve, an optoacoustic signal activating component, an ultrasonic signal activating and collecting component, an optical imaging component and an image reconstructing and displaying component. A device comprises a compact internal rectal optical, optoacoustic and ultrasonic multimode imaging endoscope, three kinds of imaging can be performed simultaneously, multi-parameter physical information and multi-scale structural images in recta can be acquired. The invention further provides a configuration scheme of the whole device and a method for utilizing the device for imaging. Three imaging techniques are highly integrated into one set of instrument, each imaging technique is optimized, and combination of three rectal endoscopic imaging methods of optical imaging, optoacoustic imaging and ultrasonic imaging is realized. The integrated endoscope combines specific advantages of three imaging modes, rectal physical images with multi-parameter information and multi-scale structural characteristics can be acquired, and application requirements of a rectal endoscope on medicine can be met better.

A photoacoustic wave detector detects a photoacoustic wave generated inside a specimen by light irradiated thereto. A signal processing device: forms first volume data from a first signal, the first signal being the detection signal acquired from the detector or a signal obtained by adjusting an amplitude of the detection signal; forms second volume data from a second signal, the second signal being a signal obtained by changing a phase of the first signal; forms third volume data from the first and second volume data; and generates and outputs image data representing information on an interior of the specimen from the third volume data.

A bioinformation acquisition apparatus to input a signal having uniform sensitivity and a high SN ratio at a high speed is provided. It includes a moving device moving an element group into the arrangement direction of the elements, and moves the element group situated at a first position at first time point to be situated at a second position at second time point. The element group receives an elastic wave emitted from a test object at the first time point at the first position, and the elastic wave from the test object at the second time point at the second position. The electric signal of a specified position of a test body from a first element of the elastic waves received at the first time point and the electric signal of the specified position from a second element received at the second time point are added to each other.

The invention provides an application of poly-dopamine nano-particles. By researches, the inventor discovers that the poly-dopamine nano-particles have strong absorbability in the near-infrared area, and have an excellent imaging effect when being used as a photoacoustic imaging contrast agent. Experiment results indicate that the poly-dopamine nano-particles have strong photoacoustic signals, high photoacoustic imaging contrast degree and clear images.

The invention discloses a multichannel synchronous real-time digitalized photoacoustic imaging device and method. The multichannel synchronous real-time digitalized photoacoustic imaging device comprises a laser, a multi-element ultrasonic detector, a front amplification circuit and a data imaging processing unit, wherein the data imaging processing unit comprises a plurality of field programmable gate array (FPGA) acquisition cards, a clock synchronous board card, a programmable communication interface (PCI) extensions for instrumentation express (PXIe) backboard and a central processing unit (CPU) board card, and can be used for realizing acquisition processing for at least 32 paths of synchronous photoacoustic signals. The multichannel synchronous real-time digitalized photoacoustic imaging method comprises the following steps that: the multi-element ultrasonic detector receives the photoacoustic signals produced by laser irradiation on a biological tissue, amplifies the photoacoustic signals and respectively transmits the signals to the FPGA acquisition cards; and each FPGA acquisition card performs preprocessing, deconvolution, continuous wavelet transformation and photoacoustic attenuation compensation on the signals, then transmits the signals to another FPGA acquisition card in a peer-to-peer (P2P) manner, performs imaging processing by adopting a 2-D (two-dimensional) filtration back-projection algorithm, and finally transmits the structure to an upper computer. The method is finished on an FPGA processor; according to a modular design, the expansion of the large-scale detector is simplified; and the device and the method are favorable for clinical application of photoacoustic imaging systems.