Microwave-induced thermoacoustic elastic imaging:A simulation study

Microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging(MTI)has the advantages of high resolution,high contrast,non-ionization,and non-invasive.Recently,MTI was used in the¯eld of breast cancer screening.In this paper,based on the¯nite element method(FEM)and COMSOL Multiphysics software,a three-dimensional breast cancer model suitable for exploring the MTI process is proposed to investigate the in°uence of Young's modulus(YM)of breast cancer tissue on MTI.It is found that the process of electromagnetic heating and initial pressure generation of the entire breast tissue is earlier in time than the thermal expansion process.Besides,compared with normal breast tissue,tumor tissue has a greater temperature rise,displacement,and pressure rise.In particular,YM of the tumor is related to the speed of thermal expansion.In particular,the larger the YM of the tumor is,the higher the heating and contraction frequency is,and the greater the maximum pressure is.Di®erent Young's moduli correspond to di®erent thermoacoustic signal spectra.In MTI,this study can be used to judge di®erent degrees of breast cancer based on elastic imaging.In addition,this study is helpful in exploring the possibility of microwave-induced thermoacoustic elastic imaging(MTAE).

Intravascular photoacoustic and optical coherence tomography imaging dual-mode system for detecting spontaneous coronary artery dissection: A feasibility study

In this work,we present an intravascular dual-mode endoscopic system capable of both intravascular photoacoustic imaging(IVPAI)and intravascular optical coherence tomography(IVOCT)for recognizing spontaneous coronary artery dissection(SCAD)phantoms.IVPAI provides high-resolution and high-penetration images of intramural hematoma(IMH)at different depths,so it is especially useful for imaging deep blood clots associated with imaging phantoms.IVOCT can readily visualize the double-lumen morphology of blood vessel walls to identify intimal tears.We also demonstrate the capability of this dual-mode endoscopic system using mimicking phantoms and biological samples of blood clots in ex vivo porcine arteries.The results of the experiments indicate that the combined IVPAI and IVOCT technique has the potential to provide a more accurate SCAD assessment method for clinical applications.

Metal reflector-enhanced thermoacoustic imaging as a guidance for puncture biopsy

Puncture biopsy is an important clinical technique to obtain diseased tissue for pathological diagnosis,where imaging guidance is critical.In this paper,we describe a metal reflector-enhanced microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging(TAI)approach capable of guiding puncture biopsy for detection of breast cancer and joint diseases.Numerical experimentations simulating puncture guidance in breast cancer and knee gout models werefirst conducted using(CST STUDIO SUITE)(CST)software,and then ex-vivo experiments were performed followed by qualitative observations and semi-quantitative analysis.The results of both the simulations and ex-vivo experiments showed that our reflector-enhanced TAI could image the puncture needle in high resolution with a large depth of>12 cm.

Isoindigo nanoparticles for photoacoustic imaging-guided tumor photothermal therapy

The key factor in photothermal therapy lies in the selection of photothermal agents.Traditional photothermal agents generally have problems such as poor photothermal stability and low photothermal conversion efficiency.Herein,we have designed and synthesized an isoindigo(IID)dye.We used isoindigo as the molecular center and introduced common triphenylamine and methoxy groups as rotors.In order to improve the photothermal stability and tumor targeting ability,we encapsulated IID into nanoparticles.As a result,the nanoparticles exhibited high photothermal stability and photothermal conversion efficiency(67%)upon 635 nm laser irradiation.Thus,the nanoparticles demonstrated a significant inhibitory effect on live tumors in photothermal therapy guided by photoacoustic imaging and provided a viable strategy to overcome the treatment challenges.

Photoacoustic/ultrasound dual-modal imaging of human nails: A pilot study

Traditional diagnostic techniques including visual examination,ultrasound(US),and magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)have limitations of in-depth information for the detection of nail disorders,resolution,and practicality.This pilot study,for thefirst time,evaluates a dualmodality imaging system that combines photoacoustic tomography(PAT)with the US for the multiparametric quantitative assessment of human nail.The study involved a small cohort offive healthy volunteers who underwent PAT/US imaging for acquiring the nail unit data.The PAT/US dual-modality imaging successfully revealed thefine anatomical structures and microvascular distribution within the nail and nail bed.Moreover,this system utilized multispectral PAT to analyze functional tissue parameters,including oxygenated hemoglobin,deoxyhemoglobin,oxygen saturation,and collagen under tourniquet and cold stimulus tests to evaluate changes in the microcirculation of the nail bed.The quantitative analysis of multispectral PAT reconstructed images demonstrated heightened sensitivity in detecting alterations in blood oxygenation levels and collagen content within the nail bed,under simulated different physiological conditions.This pilot study highlights the potential of PAT/US dual-modality imaging as a real-time,noninvasive diagnostic modality for evaluating human nail health and for early detection of nail bed pathologies.

Photoacoustic elastography based on laser-excited shear wave

Elastography can be used as a diagnostic method for quantitative characterization of tissue hardness information and thus,differential changes in pathophysiological states of tissues.In this study,we propose a new method for shear wave elastography(SWE)based on laser-excited shear wave,called photoacoustic shear wave elastography(PASWE),which combines photoacoustic(PA)technology with ultrafast ultrasound imaging.By using a focused laser to excite shear waves and ultrafast ultrasonic imaging for detection,high-frequency excitation of shear waves and noncontact elastic imaging can be realized.The laser can stimulate the tissue with the light absorption characteristic to produce the thermal expansion,thus producing the shear wave.The frequency of shear wave induced by laser is higher and the frequency band is wider.By tracking the propagation of shear wave,Young’s modulus of tissue is reconstructed in the whole shear wave propagation region to further evaluate the elastic information of tissue.The feasibility of the method is verified by experiments.Compared with the experimental results of supersonic shear imaging(SSI),it is proved that the method can be used for quantitative elastic imaging of the phantoms.In addition,compared with the SSI method,this method can realize the noncontact excitation of the shear wave,and the frequency of the shear wave excited by the laser is higher than that of the acoustic radiation force(ARF),so the spatial resolution is higher.Compared to the traditional PA elastic imaging method,this method can obtain a larger imaging depth under the premise of ensuring the imaging resolution,and it has potential application value in the clinical diagnosis of diseases requiring noncontact quantitative elasticity.

Triple-path feature transform network for ring-array photoacoustic tomography image reconstruction

Photoacoustic imaging(PAI)is a noninvasive emerging imaging method based on the photoacoustic effect,which provides necessary assistance for medical diagnosis.It has the characteristics of large imaging depth and high contrast.However,limited by the equipment cost and reconstruction time requirements,the existing PAI systems distributed with annular array transducers are difficult to take into account both the image quality and the imaging speed.In this paper,a triple-path feature transform network(TFT-Net)for ring-array photoacoustic tomography is proposed to enhance the imaging quality from limited-view and sparse measurement data.Specifically,the network combines the raw photoacoustic pressure signals and conventional linear reconstruction images as input data,and takes the photoacoustic physical model as a prior information to guide the reconstruction process.In addition,to enhance the ability of extracting signal features,the residual block and squeeze and excitation block are introduced into the TFT-Net.For further efficient reconstruction,the final output of photoacoustic signals uses‘filter-then-upsample’operation with a pixel-shuffle multiplexer and a max out module.Experiment results on simulated and in-vivo data demonstrate that the constructed TFT-Net can restore the target boundary clearly,reduce background noise,and realize fast and high-quality photoacoustic image reconstruction of limited view with sparse sampling.

Characterization of cerebrovascular changes in Alzheimer's disease mice by photoacoustic imaging

The cerebral vasculature plays a significant role in the development of Alzheimer's disease(AD),however,the specific association between them remains unclear.In this paper,based on the benefits of photoacoustic imaging(PAI),including label-free,high-resolution,in vivo imaging of vessels,we investigated the structural changes of cerebral vascular in wild-type(WT)mice and AD mice at different ages,analyzed the characteristics of the vascular in different brain regions,and correlated vascular characteristics with cognitive behaviors.The results showed that vascular density and vascular branching index in the cortical and frontal regions of both WT and AD mice decreased with age.Meanwhile,vascular lacunarity increased with age,and the changes in vascular structure were more pronounced in AD mice.The trend of vascular dysfunction aligns with the worsening cognitive dysfunction as the disease progresses.Here,we utilized in vivo PAI to analyze the changes in vascular structure during the progression of AD,elucidating the spatial and temporal correlation with cognitive impairment,which will provide more intuitive data for the study of the correlation between cerebrovascular and the development of AD.

A promising approach for quantifying focal stroke modeling and assessing stroke progression:optical resolution photoacoustic microscopy photothrombosis

To investigate the mechanisms underlying the onset and progression of ischemic stroke,some methods have been proposed that can simultaneously monitor and create embolisms in the animal cerebral cortex.However,these methods often require complex systems and the effect of age on cerebral embolism has not been adequately studied,although ischemic stroke is strongly age-related.In this study,we propose an optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy-based visualized photothrombosis methodology to create and monitor ischemic stroke in mice simultaneously using a 532 nm pulsed laser.We observed the molding process in mice of different ages and presented age-dependent vascular embolism differentiation.Moreover,we integrated optical coherence tomography angiography to investigate age-associated trends in cerebrovascular variability following a stroke.Our imaging data and quantitative analyses underscore the differential cerebrovascular responses to stroke in mice of different ages,thereby highlighting the technique's potential for evaluating cerebrovascular health and unraveling age-related mechanisms involved in ischemic strokes.

In vivo tumor detection with com bined MR-Photoacoustic-Thermoacoustic imaging

Here,we report a new method using combined magnetic resonance(MR)-Photoacoustic(PA)-Thermoacoustic(TA)imaging techmiques,and demonstrate its unique ability for in vrivo cancer detection using tumor-bearing mice.Circular scanning TA and PA imaging systems were used to recover the dielectric and optical property dist ributions of three colon carcinoma bearing mice While a 7.0-T magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)unit with a mouse body volume coil was utilized for high resolution structural imaging of the same mice.Three plastic tubes flled with soybean sauce were used as fiducial markers for the co-registration of MR,PA and TA images.The resulting fused images provided both enhanced tumor margin and contrast relative to the surrounding normal tissues.In particular,some finger-like protrusions extending into the surrounding tissues were revealed in the MR/TA infused images.These results show that the tissue functional optical and dielectric properties provided by PA and TA images along with the anatomical structure by MRI in one picture make accurate tumor identification easier.This combined MR-PA-TA-imaging strategy has the potential to offer a dinically useful triple-modality tool for accurate cancer detection and for intraoper ative surgical navigation.

Microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging with functional nanoparticles

As an emerging hybrid imaging modality,microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging(MTAI),using microwaves as the excitation source and ultrasonic signals as the information carrier for combining the characteristics of high contrast of electromagnetic imaging and high resolution of ultrasound imaging,has shown broad prospects in biomedical and clinical applications.The imaging contrast depends on the microwave-absorption coe±cient of the endogenous imaged tissue and the injected MTAI contrast agents.With systemically introduced functional nanoparticles,MTAI contrast and sensitivity can be further improved,and enables visualization of biological processes in vivo.In recent years,functional nanoparticles for MTAI have been developed to improve the performance and application range of MTAI in biomedical applications.This paper reviews the recent progress of functional nanoparticles for MTAI and their biomedical applications.The challenges and future directions of microwave thermoacoustic imaging with functional nanoparticles in theeld of translational medicine are discussed.

Photoacoustic microscopy based on transparent piezoelectric ultrasound transducers

Photoacoustic microscopy(PAM),due to its deep penetration depth and high contrast,is playing an increasingly important role in biomedical imaging.PAM imaging systems equipped with conventional ultrasound transducers have demonstrated excellent imaging performance.However,these opaque ultrasonic transducers bring some constraints to the further development and application of PAM,such as complex optical path,bulky size,and difficult to integrate with other modalities.To overcome these problems,ultrasonic transducers with high optical transparency have appeared.At present,transparent ultrasonic transducers are divided into optical-based and acoustic-based sensors.In this paper,we mainly describe the acoustic-based piezoelectric transparent transducers in detail,of which the research advances in PAM applications are reviewed.In addition,the potential challenges and developments of transparent transducers in PAM are also demonstrated.

Prospects of microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging

Microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging(MTAI)has advantages including the large imaging depth,high imaging resolution,high imaging contrast,and fast imaging speed.The thermoacoustic(TA)group of South China Normal University has dedicated to developing TA imaging for more than a decade and has made many breakthroughs.This review introduces these breakthroughs from two aspects including the improvement in techniques and the exploration of applications.On the technological level,there are ultrashort microwave pulse(USMP)-inducedTA imaging that can improve the imaging resolution,nonlinear thermoacoustic imaging(NTAI)that can improve the imaging contrast,polarized microwave-inducedthermoacoustic imaging(P-MTAI)that can obtain cellular-level alignment information,and more convenient and accurate handheld and multimodal probes.On the application side,the optimization and expansion have been carried out,mainly concentrating on breast and myocardial imaging.Finally,several current research directions are introduced,including the application of P-MTAI on joint imaging and research on whole-body imaging of small animals.

High Efficiency and Anomalous Photoacoustic Behavior in Vertical CNTs Array

Miniaturized sound generators are attractive to realize intriguing functions.Thermoacoustic device’s application is seriously limited due to the frequency-doubling phenomenon.To address this issue,photoacoustic sound generator is considered as a promising alternative.Here,based on vertical single-wall carbon nanotubes(CNTs)array,we introduce a photoacoustic sound generator with internal nano-Helmholtz cavity.Different from traditional device that generates sound by periodically heating up the open space air around material,this sound generator produces an audio signal by forming a forced vibration of the air inside the CNTs.Interestingly,anomalous photoacoustic behavior is observed that the sound pressure level(SPL)curve has a resonance peak,the corresponding frequency of which is inversely proportional to the CNTs array’s height.Furthermore,the energy conversion efficiency of this photoacoustic device is 1.64 times as large as that of a graphene sponge-based photoacoustic device.Most importantly,this device can be employed for music playing,bringing a new clew for the development of musical instruments in the future.

Developing microwave-induced thermoacoustic tomography:System,application,and reconstruction

A microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging(MITAT)system is a non-destructive physical medical imaging method that combines the advantages of the high contrast of microwave imaging and the high resolution of ultrasound imaging.It uses the microwave as the excitation source and ultrasound as the information carrier.When different kinds of biological tissue absorb electromagnetic energy,it results in localized temperature rises.The thermal expansion will induce ultrasonic signals(i.e.,thermoacoustic signals),known as the thermoacoustic effect.The microwave absorption image of the sample can be reconstructed by algorithm processing.The MITAT contrast depends on different dielectric parameters of different kinds of tissue.We introduce the developed system and its application.In addition,the challenges and prospects of MITAT for further development are discussed.

Thermoacoustic imaging:From single-element scanning to portable and array-based imaging

The microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging(TAI)technology has both the advantages of high contrast of microwave imaging and high resolution of ultrasound imaging(UI),so it has carried out exploratory application research in various areas,such as the early detection of breast tumors and cerebrovascular diseases.However,the microwave generator used in the traditional TAI technology is huge and expensive,and the temporal resolution is also too low due to the single-element scanning mechanism.Thus,it is difficult to meet the needs of clinical applications.In this paper,the iterative process and the analysis of related application scenarios from single-element scanning to portable and array-based TAI,such as the miniaturized microwave generator,handheld antenna,multi-channel data acquisition,and UI/TAIdual-modality imaging,are reviewed,and the future trends of this technology are discussed.This review helps researchers in the field of TAI learn the technological development process and future trends.It also deepens clinicians’understanding of TAI so as to put forward more application requirements.

Microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging of joints

Due to the complexity of joint structures and the diversity of disorders in the joints,the diagnosis of joint diseases is challenging.Current clinical diagnostic techniques for evaluating joint diseases,such as arthritis,have strengths and weaknesses.New imaging techniques need to be developed for the diagnosis or auxiliary diagnosis of arthritis.As an emerging nonintrusive low-cost imaging method,microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging(TAI)can present tissue morphology while providing the tissue microwave energy absorption density distribution related to dielectric properties.TAI is currently in development to potentially visualize joint anatomic structures and to detect arthritis.Here,we offer a mini review to summarize the status of research on TAI of joints and present an outlook to the future development of TAI in the detection of joint diseases.

Effects of Light Stress on Oxygen Evolution and Photochemical Energy Stor age of Hybrid Poplar Clones Determined by Photoacoustic Technique

The oxygen evolution, thermal dissipation, and photochemical energy storage of three hybrid poplar clones, namely the triploid clone B342, the diploid clone B11 [(Populus alba×P. glandulosa)×(P.tomentosa×P.bolleana)], and the triploid clone B346 [(P.tomentosa×P. bolleana)×(P. alba×P.glandulosa)], under light stress were studied using photoacoustics. The oxygen evolution signal and photochemical energy storage varied negatively with the pretreatment_PFD (photon flux density), whereas the thermal signal varied positively with the pretreatment_PFD. Photochemical energy storage was reallocated to PSⅡ more than to PSⅠ, while the photochemical energy storage in PSⅠ was more stable than that in PSⅡ when subjected to light stress. The inhibitors streptomycin (SM), dithiothreitol (DTT) and sodium fluoride (NaF) could all affect the oxygen evolution signal. Clones B11 and B342 were more resistant to light stress than clone B346.

Two-Dimensional Photoacoustic Imaging of Blood Vessel Networks within Biological Tissues

Photoacoustic tomography （PAT） is a powerful imaging merits and most compelling features of light and sound, technique for medical diagnosis because it combines the We describe a PAT experimental system constructed in our laboratory which consists of a Q-switched Nd：YAG pulse laser operating at 532nm with a 8-ns pulse width to generate the photoacoustic signals from a biological sample. Two-dimensional photoacoustic imaging of blood vessel networks lcm below the tissue surface is achieved, We also successfully demonstrate that the system is capable of imaging the blood vessels over the ex vivo rat brain with skull and skin intact.

Highly Sensitive MoS_2–Indocyanine Green Hybrid for Photoacoustic Imaging of Orthotopic Brain Glioma at Deep Site

Photoacoustic technology in combination with molecular imaging is a highly effective method for accurately diagnosing brain glioma. For glioma detection at a deeper site, contrast agents with higher photoacoustic imaging sensitivity are needed. Herein, we report a MoS_2–ICG hybrid with indocyanine green(ICG) conjugated to the surface of MoS_2 nanosheets. The hybrid significantly enhanced photoacoustic imaging sensitivity compared to MoS_2 nanosheets. This conjugation results in remarkably high optical absorbance across a broad near-infrared spectrum, redshifting of the ICG absorption peak and photothermal/photoacoustic conversion efficiency enhancement of ICG. A tumor mass of 3.5 mm beneath the mouse scalp was clearly visualized by using MoS_2–ICG as a contrast agent for the in vivo photoacoustic imaging of orthotopic glioma, which is nearly twofold deeper than the tumors imaged in our previous report using MoS_2 nanosheet. Thus, combined with its good stability and high biocompatibility, the MoS_2–ICG hybrid developed in this study has a great potential for high-efficiency tumor molecular imaging in translational medicine.