Photoacoustic imaging: opening new frontiers in medical imaging

In today's world, technology is advancing at an exponential rate and medical imaging is no exception. During the last hundred years, the field of medical imaging has seen a tremendous technological growth with the invention of imaging modalities including but not limited to X-ray, ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and single-photon emission computed tomography. These tools have led to better diagnosis and improved patient care. However, each of these modalities has its advantages as well as disadvantages and none of them can reveal all the information a physician would like to have. In the last decade, a new diagnostic technology called photoacoustic imaging has evolved which is moving rapidly from the research phase to the clinical trial phase. This article outlines the basics of photoacoustic imaging and describes our hands-on experience in developing a comprehensive photoacoustic imaging system to detect tissue abnormalities.