Photon Absorption Imaging
Listening to the Sound of Light: Biomedical Photon Absorption Imaging - formerly known as photoacoustic remote sending
Photoacoustic can be defined as listening to the sound of light. Discovered by Alexander Graham Bell in 1880, the photoacoustic effect involves the absorption of laser light and subsequent conversion to sound waves. However, recently photoacoustic has became a popular field and it is utilized for biomedical imaging. By taking advantage of the photoacoustic effect, anything that absorbs light including RNA, DNA, lipid, blood, and melanin (the pigment in the skin), will generate an ultrasound wave. Photoacoustic imaging is the only imaging modality that provides high-resolution optical absorption imaging contrast, allowing it to be used for novel pre-clinical and clinical applications in oncology, dermatology, neurology, as well as many other disciplines. One significant application for photoacoustic imaging is imaging of angiogenesis (the growth of new blood vessels). A tumor, in order to grow and reach the metastatic spread phase, needs to develop an independent blood network to supply nutrients and oxygen and to remove waste products. Angiogenesis plays a significant role in tumor growth and metastasis. Tumor growth and metastasis are responsible for more than 90% of cancer death. As a result, angiogenesis has become one of the most heavily funded areas of medical research in history. Since blood absorbs light very strongly compared to surround tissues, photoacoustic imaging provides one of the best solution for imaging blood vessels and angiogenesis.
Photoacoustic can be defined as listening to the sound of light. Discovered by Alexander Graham Bell in 1880, the photoacoustic effect involves the absorption of laser light and subsequent conversion to sound waves. However, recently photoacoustic has became a popular field and it is utilized for biomedical imaging. By taking advantage of the photoacoustic effect, anything that absorbs light including RNA, DNA, lipid, blood, and melanin (the pigment in the skin), will generate an ultrasound wave. Photoacoustic imaging is the only imaging modality that provides high-resolution optical absorption imaging contrast, allowing it to be used for novel pre-clinical and clinical applications in oncology, dermatology, neurology, as well as many other disciplines. One significant application for photoacoustic imaging is imaging of angiogenesis (the growth of new blood vessels). A tumor, in order to grow and reach the metastatic spread phase, needs to develop an independent blood network to supply nutrients and oxygen and to remove waste products. Angiogenesis plays a significant role in tumor growth and metastasis. Tumor growth and metastasis are responsible for more than 90% of cancer death. As a result, angiogenesis has become one of the most heavily funded areas of medical research in history. Since blood absorbs light very strongly compared to surround tissues, photoacoustic imaging provides one of the best solution for imaging blood vessels and angiogenesis.
Where to start?
- Lihong V Wang et at. "A practical guide to photoacoustic tomography in the life sciences" Nature Methods, Vol.13 No.8, 2016, doi:10.1038/nmeth.39
- Yong Zhou et. al, “Tutorial on photoacoustic tomography,” J. Biomed. Opt. 21(6), 061007 (2016), doi: 10.1117/1.JBO.21.6.061007.
- Junjie Yao et. al, "Sensitivity of photoacoustic microscopy", Photoacoustics 2 (2014) 87–101.
- Paul Beard, "Biomedical photoacoustic imaging" Interface Focus. 2011 Aug 6; 1(4): 602–631.
- Vasilis Ntziachristos "Going deeper than microscopy: the optical imaging frontier in biology", Nature Methods 7, 603–614 (2010)
- MucongLi, YuqiTang, JunjieYao, "Photoacoustic tomography of blood oxygenation: A mini review", Volume 10, June 2018, Pages 65-73