Rapid High-Resolution Mosaic Acquisition for Photoacoustic Remote Sensing

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Imaging
• Optical Physics
• Microscopy

Background:

• Mechanical stages are standard for large-area scanning in photoacoustic imaging due to limited optical field of view (FOV).
• Stage scanning is slow, impractical for high speeds or heavy samples, and time-consuming for high-resolution imaging.
• Clinical needs, such as submicron resolution in microsurgery, demand efficient large FOV acquisition with small raster step sizes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate a hybrid scanning method for rapid, high-resolution, large FOV photoacoustic imaging.
• To overcome limitations of purely mechanical or optical scanning methods.

Main Methods:

• Combining mechanical stages with optical scanning to acquire small, overlapping frames.
• Acquiring frames on a 2D grid defined by mechanical stages for image registration.
• Utilizing a 200 nm step size for high-resolution mosaic generation.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated rapid acquisition of 0.8 × 0.8 mm² mosaics with 1.2 µm resolution in under 70 seconds.
• Successfully imaged larger areas up to 3 × 3 mm².
• Validated the method by imaging unstained human histopathological tissue (1 × 1 mm²).

Conclusions:

• The hybrid scanning approach significantly accelerates the acquisition of high-resolution, large FOV images in photoacoustic imaging.
• This method addresses critical limitations of traditional stage scanning, enhancing applicability for demanding applications like microsurgery.
• The technique provides a robust solution for detailed imaging of biological specimens and tissues.