[Prospects of the Application of Photoacoustic Technique in Microcirculation Imaging Research on the Acupoints...

Research on the imaging of acupoint sensitization is inadequate, especially at the microcirculation level. Photoacoustic imaging is one of the main techniques used in microcirculation imaging, and has the characteristics of high contrast, high detection depth and high sensitivity for tissue function. In the present paper the authors briefly introduce photoacoustic imaging and review research advances in photoacoustic imaging of microcirculation from the aspects of structure and function. The photoacoustic technique can three-dimensionally image and quantitatively examine microcirculation structure to the depth of interest tissues with high spatial resolution, and can dynamically measure total hemoglobin concentration and its oxygenation level, blood flow velocity, oxygen metabolism level, vasoconstriction, vasodilation, and hemodynamics of a target vessel in real time. Based on these factors, the prospects of the application of photoacoustic imaging are debated. The authors propose that photoacoustic imaging is appropriate for research on the sensitization of microcirculation in acupoints and can be applied to sensitized acupoints locally or in the brain, which is expected to further determine characteristic changes in the microcirculation of sensitized acupoints and enrich the specific connotation of the central sensitization of acupoints.