Iterative algorithm for multiple illumination photoacoustic tomography (MIPAT) using ultrasound channel data

Area of Science:

• Biomedical imaging
• Optical physics
• Computational modeling

Background:

• Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) offers high resolution and optical contrast.
• Quantitative analysis in PAT is difficult.
• Current methods often rely on flawed assumptions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel algorithm for quantitative photoacoustic estimation of optical properties.
• To improve the accuracy and robustness of optical property measurements in PAT.
• To overcome limitations of existing quantitative PAT algorithms.

Main Methods:

• An algorithm minimizing error between measured and modeled photoacoustic data was developed.
• A multiple-illumination pattern was employed.
• The method directly uses transducer channel data, avoiding initial pressure reconstruction.

Main Results:

• Simulations demonstrated numerically robust optical property estimation.
• The algorithm showed promise for accurate absorption and diffusion coefficient determination.
• Well-conditioned Hessian singular values validated the method's stability in 2D.

Conclusions:

• The proposed algorithm enables quantitative photoacoustic imaging without erroneous assumptions.
• This work represents the first demonstration of multiple-illumination PAT using only channel data.
• The findings support the potential of this method for reliable optical property estimation in biomedical applications.