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Photoacoustic imaging and its preclinical application in ophthalmology
Author(s) -
Liu M.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2017.03665
Subject(s) - photoacoustic imaging in biomedicine , materials science , absorption (acoustics) , optics , photoacoustic tomography , photoacoustic doppler effect , microscopy , optical imaging , photoacoustic effect , laser , photoacoustic spectroscopy , biomedical engineering , medical imaging , medicine , radiology , physics
Summary Photoacoustic imaging is an emerging optical imaging technique featuring optical illumination and acoustic detection. Short laser pulses deposit their energy in optical absorbers where light energy is converted to acoustic energy. Therefore photoacoustic imaging is a direct way of absorption mapping in 3D. Since absorbers, or chromophores, have unique absorption spectra, spectrascopic photoacoustic imaging can distinguish different absorbers by wavelength unmixing. In preclinical and clinical settings, photoacoustic microscopy, one major modality in photoacoustic imaging, can be used for ophthalmic imaging. Without the use of contrast agents, two absorbers can be distinguished: melanin and hemoglobin. Even though the application of photoacoustic microscopy in ophthalmic imaging is relatively new and still in its primitive phase, here we can see how photoacoustic microscopy can reveal the details of blood vessels and melanin in the eye. We will also discuss the potentials of photoacoustic imaging for ophthalmology.