Title :
Clinical demonstration of epi-mode photoacoustic clutter reduction using palpation scanning
Author :
Jaeger, Michael ; Birtill, David ; Gertsch, Andreas ; O´Flynn, Elizabeth ; Bamber, Jeffrey
Author_Institution :
Joint Dept. of Phys., R. Marsden NHS Found. Trust, Sutton, UK
Abstract :
Photoacoustic (PA) imaging, based on ultrasound detection after laser irradiation, is a promising extension to diagnostic ultrasound for vascular imaging and cancer diagnosis. For versatile use, epi-mode imaging with irradiation close to the acoustic probe is preferred. However, epi-mode results in strong clutter, limiting the imaging depth to typically less than two centimetres. It has previously been shown that clutter can be reduced in images acquired while palpating the tissue using the ultrasound probe. After motion compensation of the image sequence, averaging reduces decorrelating clutter and improves contrast. This method has now for the first time been applied to free-hand real-time clinical scans, and significant contrast improvement of clinical PA images was demonstrated.
Keywords :
biomedical optical imaging; biomedical ultrasonics; cancer; data acquisition; image sequences; medical image processing; real-time systems; ultrasonic imaging; acoustic probe; cancer diagnosis; clinical demonstration; diagnostic ultrasound; epi-mode imaging; epi-mode photoacoustic clutter reduction; free-hand real-time clinical scans; image acquisition; image sequence; laser irradiation; motion compensation; palpation scanning; photoacoustic imaging; tissue; ultrasound detection; vascular imaging; Biomedical imaging; Cancer; Clutter; Decorrelation; Probes; Ultrasonic imaging;
Conference_Titel :
Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS), 2011 IEEE International
Conference_Location :
Orlando, FL
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4577-1253-1
DOI :
10.1109/ULTSYM.2011.0586