In this paper, wavelength selection for multispectral photoacoustic/ultrasound tomography was optimized to obtain accurate images of hemoglobin oxygen saturation (sO₂) in vivo. Although wavelengths can be selected by theoretical methods, in practice the accuracy of reconstructed images will be affected by wavelength-specific and system-specific factors such as laser source power and ultrasound transducer sensitivity. By performing photoacoustic spectroscopy of mouse tumor models using 14 different wavelengths between 710 and 840 nm, we were able to identify a wavelength set which most accurately reproduced the results obtained using all 14 wavelengths via selection criteria. In clinical studies, the optimal wavelength set was successfully used to image human ovaries in vivo and noninvasively. Although these results are specific to our co-registered photoacoustic/ultrasound imaging system, the approach we developed can be applied to other functional photoacoustic and optical imaging systems.

Date Published: 11 March 2015
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 9323, Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing 2015, 932303 (11 March 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2080385

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9323:
Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing 2015
Alexander A. Oraevsky; Lihong V. Wang, Editor(s)