Super-resolution photoacoustic fluctuation imaging with multiple speckle illumination

TL;DR

This paper introduces a super-resolution photoacoustic imaging technique using multiple speckle illumination and fluctuation analysis, achieving nearly double the resolution beyond the acoustic diffraction limit in deep tissue imaging.

Contribution

It presents a novel method combining speckle illumination and fluctuation analysis to surpass acoustic diffraction limits in deep tissue photoacoustic imaging.

Findings

Achieved nearly twofold resolution enhancement experimentally.

Demonstrated super-resolution imaging beyond acoustic diffraction limits.

Proposed a new framework for deep tissue photoacoustic imaging.

Abstract

In deep tissue photoacoustic imaging, the spatial resolution is inherently limited by acoustic diffraction. Moreover, as the ultrasound attenuation increases with frequency, resolution is often traded-off for penetration depth. Here we report on super-resolution photoacoustic imaging by use of multiple speckle illumination. Specifically, we show that the analysis of second-order fluctuations of the photoacoustic images combined with image deconvolution enables resolving optically absorbing structures beyond the acoustic diffraction limit. A resolution increase of almost a factor 2 is demonstrated experimentally. Our method introduces a new framework that could potentially lead to deep tissue photoacoustic imaging with sub-acoustic resolution.