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Updated: Oct 22, 2025

A High-performance Compact Photoacoustic Tomography System for In Vivo Small-animal Brain Imaging
Published on: June 21, 2017
Photoacoustic computed tomography for functional human brain imaging [Invited]
Shuai Na1, Lihong V Wang1,2
1Caltech Optical Imaging Laboratory, Andrew and Peggy Cherng Department of Medical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
Abstract:
The successes of magnetic resonance imaging and modern optical imaging of human brain function have stimulated the development of complementary modalities that offer molecular specificity, fine spatiotemporal resolution, and sufficient penetration simultaneously. By virtue of its rich optical contrast, acoustic resolution, and imaging depth far beyond the optical transport mean free path (∼1 mm in biological tissues), photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) offers a promising complementary modality. In this article, PACT for functional human brain imaging is reviewed in its hardware, reconstruction algorithms, in vivo demonstration, and potential roadmap.
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