Autofocusing optical-resolution photoacoustic endoscopy

Opt Lett. 2018 Apr 15;43(8):1846-1849. doi: 10.1364/OL.43.001846.

Abstract

Photoacoustic (PA) endoscopy has the potential to diagnose early diseases in the gastrointestinal tract. For the first time, to our knowledge, we developed an autofocusing PA endoscope (AF-PAE) for the usually irregular gastrointestinal tract imaging to solve the deterioration of transverse resolution caused by the defocus scanning of the probe. The 9-mm-diameter AF-PAE probe integrated a 6-mm aspheric lens and 6-mm liquid lens to automatically adjust the optical focal length, and an unfocused ultrasonic transducer with a center frequency of 15 MHz is coaxially set for detecting PA signals. With this probe, the AF-PAE achieved a focus-shifting range from approximately 2 to 10 mm with high transverse resolution and image contrast in a 360° field of view. Phantom experiment and vasculature distribution of a resected rabbit rectum have been performed to demonstrate the imaging ability of the AF-PAE for potential clinical applications in colorectal vessel imaging and subsequent diagnosis.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Blood Vessels / anatomy & histology
  • Blood Vessels / diagnostic imaging*
  • Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal / methods*
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional
  • Photoacoustic Techniques / instrumentation*
  • Rabbits
  • Rectum / blood supply*