Photoacoustic and Doppler ultrasound biomicroscopy for oxygen consumption estimation

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A new kind of high-resolution biomedical imaging technology will be developed that combines ultrasound and lasers. Pulses of laser light sent into tissue generate inaudible sound waves when the light is absorbed by small blood vessels. These signals are used to form images of the optical properties of the tissue. This technique is called photoacoustic imaging. Just as arteries & veins have different oxygen-dependent colors, photoacoustic imaging is sensitive to color & thus blood oxygenation. We will combine this imaging technique, termed functional photoacoustic microscopy, with Doppler ultrasound which can measure blood flow. The goal in doing this is to measure the rate at which oxygen is consumed in local tissues. This will be important for a large number of biomedical problems, since oxygen metabolism relates to tissue function and dysfunction. Oxygen usage is altered in many diseases such as cancer, stroke, and heart disease. The imaging technique is completely non-invasive, requires no special contrast agents & may be inexpensive enough and portable enough to be used in many settings including research laboratories, pharmaceutical companies, and medical clinics. It may help doctors detect and treat diseases, and may provide us with a better understanding of disease progression. To realize this vision, our research team will build a system that can perform both photoacoustic and Doppler ultrasound imaging. We will use this system to provide new informaton about the optical properties of tissues, and test the ability of the system to measure oxygen consumption in controlled phantom experiments.