Optoacoustic tomography and its recent advances in biomedical imaging

摘要

Optoacoustic tomography, which maps the distribution of the optical absorption within biological tissues by use of time-resolved laser-induced ultrasonic signals, is attracting increasing interests in biomedical imaging. As a hybrid imaging technique, it takes the advantages of both optical and ultrasonic techniques in that the tomography image has the optical contrast similar to the optical techniques while enjoying the high spatial resolution comparable to the ultrasound. In theories, this technique can image the objects embedded several centimeters deep within targets with a resolution of several tens of microns. In this paper, the current-state-of-the-art time-resolved optoacoustic tomography in biomedical imaging is reviewed. This paper consists of four sections: principles of optoacoustic tomography, signal acquisition and process, recent progress and advance, and problems and outlooks for the technique.