We demonstrate the feasibility of quantitative optical absorption imaging by using Monte Carlo simulation of combined photoacoustic tomography (PAT) and ultrasound-modulated optical tomography (UOT). Our simulation results show that the optical fluence on initial photoacoustic (PA) pressure waves can be accurately compensated for recovering exact optical absorption coefficients by using a fluence map acquired from UOT signals. Further, when the optical heterogeneities of a sample were varied, the recovered optical absorption coefficients from a target remained constant while PA amplitudes fluctuated. In practice, PAT and UOT systems can be potentially combined because both imaging systems can easily share light illumination and ultrasound application patterns.

Date Published: 23 February 2012
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 8223, Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing 2012, 82232C (23 February 2012); doi: 10.1117/12.905792

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8223:
Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing 2012
Alexander A. Oraevsky; Lihong V. Wang, Editor(s)