Universal real-time adaptive signal compression for high-frame-rate optoacoustic tomography

State-of-the-art optoacoustic tomography (OAT) systems can achieve 3D frame rates in the kilohertz range. This creates a demand for faster data processing methods and more efficient means of data storage, especially for lengthy time-lapse acquisitions. Herein, we developed an adaptive OAT data compression method coupled with an efficient reconstruction algorithm capable of reconstructing images directly from the compressed data. Adaptive compression was able to achieve compression ratios between 20 and 1000. Direct reconstructions from the compressed data outperformed parallel back-projection algorithms in terms of computational time to provide real-time volumetric reconstruction on a CPU.