SYSTEM AND IMAGING METHOD FOR USING PHOTOACOUSTIC EFFECT

• US 20160213256A1
• Filed: 05/26/2015
• Published: 07/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: National Taiwan University (Government of The Republic of China)
• Original Assignee: National Taiwan University (Government of The Republic of China)
• Inventors: CHAO, PEI-YU, WU, KAI-WEN, LI, PAI-CHI
• Granted Patent: US 10,004,405 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0095 by applying light and detecting acoustic waves, i.e. photoacoustic measurements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6848 Needles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/12 in body cavities or body tracts, e.g. by using catheters catheters per se A61M25/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4483 characterised by features of the ultrasound transducer
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 15/046 using optical excitation, e.g. laser bundle

Abstract

A system and an imaging method for using photoacoustic effect are provided in the present invention. The system includes a light source for generating a light beam, a wave-guide probe and an ultrasound receiving device. The wave-guide probe further has a reception portion and at least one transmission portion. The reception portion receives the light beam and then triggers a photoacoustic effect inside the reception portion so as thereby to generate at least one sound wave thereinside to be further transmitted to the at least one transmission portion. The transmission portion is merged into the organic medium. When the sound wave is transmitted to the transmission portion, an ultrasound area is generated inside the organic medium. The ultrasound receiving device is located adjacent to the organic medium, receives the ultrasound generated in the ultrasound area to form an ultrasound image of the organic medium, so as to achieve the imaging method.

Claims

1. A system for using photoacoustic effect, applied to an organic medium for generating at least one ultrasound, the organic medium capable of acoustic coupling, comprising:

a light source for generating a light beam;

a wave-guide probe including;

a reception portion receiving the light beam to trigger a photoacoustic effect inside the reception portion of the wave-guide probe and so as thereby to generate at least one sound wave thereinside; and

at least one transmission portion merged into the organic medium, wherein at least one ultrasound area is generated inside the organic medium when the at least one sound wave is transmitted from the reception portion to the at least one transmission portion; and

an ultrasound receiving device located adjacent to the organic medium to receive at least one ultrasound generated in the at least one ultrasound area.

2. The system for using photoacoustic effect of claim 1, wherein the light beam is a laser beam.

3. The system for using photoacoustic effect of claim 1, wherein the wave-guide probe is flexible.

4. The system for using photoacoustic effect of claim 1, wherein the wave-guide probe further has an internal transmission pathway, and the internal transmission pathway is further wrapped by a metal for transmitting an agent to the ultrasound area.

5. The system for using photoacoustic effect of claim 4, wherein the agent is one of a curative agent, a nutritive agent and a diagnostic agent.

6. The system for using photoacoustic effect of claim 4, wherein the internal transmission pathway of the wave-guide probe is to sample a cell in the ultrasound area of the organic medium.

7. The system for using photoacoustic effect of claim 1, wherein the organic medium is a human body.

8. The system for using photoacoustic effect of claim 1, wherein the wave-guide probe has the reception portion and a plurality of the transmission portions, the reception portion and the plurality of the transmission portions are separated by a distance, the transmission portions receives the sound wave and then generates a plurality of the ultrasound areas in the organic medium, the plurality of the ultrasound areas generate a plurality of the ultrasounds, and the distance is adjustably set to make a focus point of the ultrasounds be formed inside the organic medium.

9. The system for using photoacoustic effect of claim 8, wherein the wave-guide probe is wrapped by a plurality of sound-absorbed materials for forming the plurality of the transmission portions, the sound wave in the wave-guide probe is transmitted in a first sound wave velocity and is transmitted to the plurality of the transmission portions respectively at a plurality of first propagation times, the plurality of the ultrasounds in the organic medium are transmitted in a second sound wave velocity and are transmitted to the ultrasound receiving device respectively at a plurality of second propagation times, the ultrasound receiving device uses the first sound wave velocity, the second sound wave velocity and time lags between the plurality of the first propagation times and the respective plurality of the second propagation times to compute a spatial distribution of the plurality of the transmission portions.

10. An imaging method executed by using the system of claim 1, and comprising the steps of:

(a) placing the transmission portion of the wave-guide probe into the organic medium;

(b) triggering the light source to transmit the light beam to the reception portion of the wave-guide probe, so as to make the reception portion generate the sound wave and transmit the sound wave from the reception portion to the transmission portion, and further to generate the ultrasound area in the organic medium after the sound wave reaches the transmission portion; and

(c) applying the ultrasound receiving device to receive the ultrasound generated in the ultrasound area so as thereby to form an ultrasound image inside the organic medium.