Photoacoustic tomography: High-resolution imaging of optical contrast in vivo at superdepths

A photoacoustic imaging technology for in vivo early-cancer detection and functional imaging is developed by physically combining non-ionizing electromagnetic and ultrasonic waves. An ultrasound-mediated imaging modality is devised by combining electromagnetic and ultrasonic waves synergistically to overcome the above limitations. The hybrid modalities provide relatively deep penetration at high ultrasonic resolution and yield speckle-free images with high electromagnetic contrast.