Sensitivity in laser scanning photoacoustic microscopy

Abstract

Laser scanning photoacoustic microscopy (LS-PAM) is one of the simplest implementations of photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) systems. In this work, we investigate how the sensitivity distribution of the transducer relates to its FOV, which in turn affect the imaging area. Furthermore, the relation between transducer active area and sensitivity distribution will be investigated. Transducers with varying diameters and sensitivity will be compared and their FOV will be evaluated. The results will be quantitatively compared in terms maximum sensitivity distribution, signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the signals received and peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) of the images produced.