Quantification of optical absorption coefficients using acoustic spectra in photoacoustic tomography
First Claim
1. A method of quantifying an absolute optical absorption coefficient of an object, said method comprising:
- focusing a first light pulse emitted by a light source into a volume of the object, wherein the first light pulse has a first wavelength;
receiving at an acoustic transducer a first acoustic wave emitted by the object in response to receiving the first light pulse;
performing on a controller a transformation on the received first acoustic wave to generate a first acoustic spectrum;
focusing a second light pulse emitted by the light source into the volume of the object, wherein the second light pulse has a second wavelength;
receiving at the acoustic transducer a second acoustic wave emitted by the object in response to receiving the second light pulse;
performing on the controller a transformation on the received second acoustic wave to generate a second acoustic spectrum; and
quantifying the absolute absorption coefficient of the volume of the object, wherein the absolute absorption coefficient is a function of the first acoustic spectrum and the second acoustic spectrum.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Accurately quantifying optical absorption coefficient using acoustic spectra of photoacoustic signals. Optical absorption is closely associated with many physiological parameters, such as the concentration and oxygen saturation of hemoglobin, and it can be used to quantify the concentrations of non-fluorescent molecules. A sample is illuminated by, for example, a pulsed laser and following the absorption of optical energy, a photoacoustic pressure is generated via thermo-elastic expansion. The acoustic waves then propagate and are detected by a transducer. The optical absorption coefficient of the sample is quantified from spectra of the measured photoacoustic signals. Factors, such as system bandwidth and acoustic attenuation, may affect the quantification but are canceled by dividing the acoustic spectra measured at multiple optical wavelengths.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of quantifying an absolute optical absorption coefficient of an object, said method comprising:
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focusing a first light pulse emitted by a light source into a volume of the object, wherein the first light pulse has a first wavelength; receiving at an acoustic transducer a first acoustic wave emitted by the object in response to receiving the first light pulse; performing on a controller a transformation on the received first acoustic wave to generate a first acoustic spectrum; focusing a second light pulse emitted by the light source into the volume of the object, wherein the second light pulse has a second wavelength; receiving at the acoustic transducer a second acoustic wave emitted by the object in response to receiving the second light pulse; performing on the controller a transformation on the received second acoustic wave to generate a second acoustic spectrum; and quantifying the absolute absorption coefficient of the volume of the object, wherein the absolute absorption coefficient is a function of the first acoustic spectrum and the second acoustic spectrum. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A system for quantifying an absolute optical absorption coefficient of a volume of an object, said system comprising:
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a light source for emitting a first light pulse having a first wavelength and a second light pulse having a second wavelength; a focusing element for focusing the first light pulse and the second light pulse into a volume of the object; an acoustic transducer for receiving a first acoustic wave emitted by the object in response to the volume of the object absorbing the first light pulse and a second acoustic wave emitted by the object in response to the volume of the object absorbing the second light pulse; and a controller for performing a transformation on the received first acoustic wave and second acoustic wave to generate a first acoustic spectrum and a second acoustic spectrum, respectively, and quantifying the absolute absorption coefficient of the volume of the object as a function of the first acoustic spectrum and the second acoustic spectrum. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system for generating an image of an object and quantifying an absolute optical absorption coefficient of a volume of an object, said system comprising:
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a light source for emitting a first light pulse having a first wavelength and a second light pulse having a second wavelength; a focusing element for focusing the first light pulse and the second light pulse into a volume of a plurality of volumes of the object; an acoustic transducer for receiving a first acoustic wave produced by the object in response to the volume of the object absorbing the first light pulse and a second acoustic wave produced by the object in response to the volume of the object absorbing the second light pulse; a controller for performing a transformation on the received first acoustic wave and second acoustic wave to generate a first acoustic spectrum and a second acoustic spectrum, respectively, quantifying the absolute absorption coefficient of the volume of the object as a function of the first acoustic spectrum and the second acoustic spectrum and for reconstructing an image from acoustic spectra detected from the plurality of volumes of the object; and a scanner for altering a spatial relationship between the object and the focusing element after the first acoustic wave and the second acoustic wave are detected by the acoustic transducer for the volume such that the first light pulse and the second light pulse are focused into another volume of the plurality of volumes of the object. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification