A calibration-free, one-step method for quantitative photoacoustic tomography

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Optics
• Medical Imaging
• Photoacoustic Tomography

Background:

• Quantitative photoacoustic tomography (PAT) enables recovery of optical absorption coefficient, correlating with physiological information.
• Existing quantitative PAT methods require accurate absorbed energy density and incident light source data.
• This dependence limits the precision of optical absorption coefficient recovery.

Purpose of the Study:

• Develop a novel algorithm for optical absorption coefficient reconstruction.
• Eliminate the need for pre-determined absorbed energy density and incident light parameters.
• Enhance the accuracy and utility of quantitative PAT.

Main Methods:

• Propose a one-step reconstruction approach for optical absorption coefficient.
• Utilize photoacoustic measurements acquired along the boundary domain.
• Validate the method through simulations and phantom experiments.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated direct recovery of optical absorption coefficient maps using boundary measurements.
• Successfully reconstructed absorbing objects of varying sizes and optical contrasts.
• Validated the feasibility of the one-step approach with photon diffusion equation.

Conclusions:

• The one-step reconstruction scheme significantly improves absorption coefficient recovery accuracy.
• This method offers a more robust alternative to previous two-step approaches.
• The developed algorithm enhances quantitative PAT capabilities.