Photoacoustic computed tomography with improved quality

Abstract

This paper introduces an innovative approach to enhance the circular scanning-based photoacoustic tomography (CS-PAT) system for photoacoustic imaging. The proposed method involves using a circular detection geometry with three carefully placed ultrasound transducers (USTs). By strategically selecting the angles of the USTs, the field of view (FOV) is expanded, and tangential resolution is improved without requiring additional imaging time. The new CS-PAT system demonstrates practicality and convenience, providing higher signal-to-noise ratio and better structural similarity compared to the conventional system. This approach overcomes the limitations of the limited size of USTs and widens the application potential of CS-PAT in a straightforward and efficient manner.