Development of a hand-held 3D photoacoustic imaging system for breast cancer detection

Photoacoustic (PA) imaging is a non-invasive imaging modality that employs non-ionizing near infrared (NIR) laser light to obtain optical images of tissues with depth penetration and resolution comparable to ultrasound imaging. PA images are created by illuminating tissues with a short laser pulse (~10 ns), which causes optically absorbing structures to heat up slightly, but so rapidly that conditions of thermal and stress confinement are met and the structure emits a pressure wave at ultrasonic frequencies. Detection of the pressure waves at the tissue surface with an ultrasound transducer array provides the data needed to reconstruct the distribution of light-absorbing structures within the tissue. Since it is recognized that cancerous breast lesions absorb light to a greater degree than surrounding normal tissue, PA imaging is a viable candidate for detection of lesions within the intact human breast. Therefore, we have constructed a transportable PA imaging system suitable for breast imaging. The system incorporates a hand-held transducer array with 30 detector elements arranged on a ring. Laser light is delivered coaxially in relation to the ring using a fiber optic light guide. The supporting hardware includes a NIR tuneable laser, transducer cabling, 30 preamplifiers, 30 independent data acquisition channels with onboard memory, and a computer with control and image reconstruction software. Initial tests with the transducer array suggest that it has sufficient sensitivity to detect optically absorbent objects on the order of 1- mm at a depth of 2 cm. It is anticipated that a small hand-held PA imaging unit will be amenable to patient work-up and would complement standard ultrasound imaging.