RF heating-enhanced photoacoustic tomography

TL;DR

This paper introduces RF Heating-Enhanced Photoacoustic Tomography (HEPAT), a novel imaging method combining low-cost RF heating with photoacoustic imaging to map RF absorption and enhance tissue contrast.

Contribution

The paper presents a new integrated system that uses inexpensive RF heating to augment photoacoustic tomography, enabling simultaneous imaging of optical and RF tissue properties.

Findings

HEPAT effectively maps RF absorption via temperature-dependent thermomechanical changes.

The system provides additional contrast, improving tissue characterization.

It offers a cost-effective approach to multimodal imaging.

Abstract

Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) and thermoacoustic tomography (TAT) both leverage acoustic signals generated by electromagnetic absorption to noninvasively image deep tissues. PAT operates by detecting optical absorption, whereas TAT targets radiofrequency (RF) absorption, providing complementary information on tissue composition and structure. Combining these modalities into a single system promises richer contrast but remains difficult due to the expense and complexity of the RF source. Here, we show that PAT can be integrated with a low-cost RF heater and used to image both optical and RF absorption in tissue phantoms. RF Heating-Enhanced Photoacoustic Tomography (HEPAT) maps RF absorption via temperature-dependent changes in thermomechanical properties, which enables the use of slow, inexpensive RF subsystems and provides an additional layer of contrast. HEPAT therefore provides distinct, complementary contrast relative to existing photoacoustic imaging systems, expanding specificity and diagnostic power while opening new avenues for studying temperature-related tissue phenomena.