Acoustic scattering mediated single detector optoacoustic tomography

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel optoacoustic imaging method that uses acoustic scattering to encode spatial information, enabling image reconstruction from a single waveform and potentially leading to faster, more affordable systems.

Contribution

It demonstrates that acoustic scattering can be exploited to encode absorber positions, allowing single-waveform image reconstruction in optoacoustic tomography.

Findings

Successful single waveform image reconstruction demonstrated

Calibration with scattering medium enables accurate imaging

Reduced data acquisition time compared to traditional methods

Abstract

Optoacoustic image formation is conventionally based upon ultrasound time-of-flight readings from multiple detection positions. Herein, we exploit acoustic scattering to physically encode the position of optical absorbers in the acquired signals, thus reduce the amount of data required to reconstruct an image from a single waveform. This concept is experimentally tested by including a random distribution of scatterers between the sample and an ultrasound detector array. Ultrasound transmission through a randomized scattering medium was calibrated by raster scanning a light-absorbing microparticle across a Cartesian grid. Image reconstruction from a single time-resolved signal was then enabled with a regularized model-based iterative algorithm relying on the calibration signals. The signal compression efficiency is facilitated by the relatively short acquisition time window needed to capture the entire scattered wavefield. The demonstrated feasibility to form an image using a single recorded optoacoustic waveform paves a way to the development of faster and affordable optoacoustic imaging systems.