Dynamic Registration-Based Photoacoustic Endoscopic Temperature Imaging for Precision Interventional Thermal Therapy...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Imaging
• Cardiovascular Research

Background:

• Atherosclerosis, a leading cause of cardiovascular disease, necessitates effective minimally invasive treatments.
• Current temperature monitoring methods for photothermal ablation lack spatial accuracy and are unsuitable for catheter integration.
• Reliable real-time temperature monitoring is crucial for optimizing photothermal therapy efficacy and safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel system for real-time intravascular temperature imaging and monitoring.
• To enable accurate thermal feedback during minimally invasive cardiovascular interventions.
• To overcome the limitations of conventional thermometry and array-based photoacoustic thermometry.

Main Methods:

• Development of a miniaturized dual-modality catheter integrating photoacoustic/ultrasound imaging capabilities.
• Implementation of dynamic registration-corrected photoacoustic endoscopy (PETI-DRC) for angularly registered temperature mapping.
• Quantitative validation using phantoms and ex vivo rabbit aortas, comparing with thermocouple references and microscopic data.

Main Results:

• Achieved high inter-frame consistency (average SSIM = 0.9684) and temperature accuracy (RMSE = 0.65 °C).
• Demonstrated stable reconstruction of angularly registered temperature images.
• Enabled reliable tracking of thermal dynamics for real-time intravascular temperature monitoring.

Conclusions:

• The PETI-DRC system provides accurate thermal feedback for safer and more effective photothermal therapy.
• This technology represents a significant advancement for intravascular interventions requiring precise temperature control.
• The developed system offers a promising direction for future clinical applications in cardiovascular disease treatment.