Nonlinear effects in acousto-optic imaging

Enhanced tagging of light utilizing acoustic radiation force with speckle pattern analysis

In optical imaging, the depth and resolution are limited due to scattering. Unlike light, scattering of ultrasound (US) waves in tissue is negligible. Hybrid imaging methods such as US-modulated optical tomography (UOT) use the advantages of both modalities. UOT tags light by inducing phase change caused by modulating the local index of refraction of the medium. The challenge in UOT is detecting the small signal. The displacement induced by the acoustic radiation force (ARF) is another US effect that can be utilized to tag the light. It induces greater phase change, resulting in a stronger signal. Moreover, the absorbed acoustic energy generates heat, resulting in change in the index of refraction and a strong phase change. The speckle pattern is governed by the phase of the interfering scattered waves; hence, speckle pattern analysis can obtain information about displacement and temperature changes. We have presented a model to simulate the insonation processes. Simulation results based on fixed-particle Monte Carlo and experimental results show that the signal acquired by utilizing ARF is stronger compared to UOT. The introduced mean irradiance change (MIC) signal reveals both thermal and mechanical effects of the focused US beam in different timescales. Simulation results suggest that variation in the MIC signal can be used to generate a displacement image of the medium.

Ultrasound modulated optical tomography contrast enhancement with non-linear oscillation of microbubbles

BACKGROUND

Ultrasound modulated optical tomography (USMOT) is an imaging technique used to provide optical functional information inside highly scattering biological tissue. One of the challenges facing this technique is the low image contrast.

METHODS

A contrast enhancement imaging technique based on the non-linear oscillation of microbubbles is demonstrated to improve image contrast. The ultrasound modulated signal was detected using a laser pulse based speckle contrast detection system. Better understanding of the effects of microbubbles on the optical signals was achieved through simultaneous measurement of the ultrasound scattered by the microbubbles.

RESULTS

The length of the laser pulse was found to affect the system response of the speckle contrast method with shorter pulses suppressing the fundamental ultrasound modulated optical signal. Using this property, image contrast can be enhanced by detection of the higher harmonic ultrasound modulated optical signals due to nonlinear oscillation and destruction of the microbubbles. Experimental investigations were carried out to demonstrate a doubling in contrast by imaging a scattering phantom containing an embedded silicone tube with microbubbles flowing through it.

CONCLUSIONS

The contrast enhancement in USMOT resulting from the use of ultrasound microbubbles has been demonstrated. Destruction of the microbubbles was shown to be the dominant effect leading to contrast improvement as shown by simultaneously detecting the ultrasound and speckle contrast signals. Line scans of a microbubble filled silicone tube embedded in a scattering phantom demonstrated experimentally the significant image contrast improvement that can be achieved using microbubbles and demonstrates the potential as a future clinical imaging tool.

Pulsed ultrasound modulated optical tomography with harmonic lock-in holography detection

A method that uses digital heterodyne holography reconstruction to extract scattered light modulated by a single-cycle ultrasound (US) burst is demonstrated and analyzed. An US burst is used to shift the pulsed laser frequency by a series of discrete harmonic frequencies which are then locked on a CCD. The analysis demonstrates that the unmodulated light's contribution to the detected signal can be canceled by appropriate selection of the pulse repetition frequency. It is also shown that the modulated signal can be maximized by selecting a pulse sequence which consists of a pulse followed by its inverted counterpart. The system is used to image a 12 mm thick chicken breast with 2 mm wide optically absorbing objects embedded at the midplane. Furthermore, the method can be revised to detect the nonlinear US modulated signal by locking at the second harmonic US frequency.

Pulse inversion ultrasound modulated optical tomography

Pulse inversion acoustic imaging is useful as it allows second harmonic imaging to be obtained with short acoustic pulses. This allows high axial resolution, but removes any overlap in the frequency spectra of fundamental and harmonic. We demonstrate pulse inversion ultrasound modulated optical tomography using an optical speckle based detection method. Inverted and non-inverted acoustic pulses combined with synchronized strobed illumination are applied to an optically scattering medium. Over the acquisition time of a camera, multiple pulses are summed and at the next frame the phase of the ultrasound is shifted by π/2 and the process repeated. Combining the two frames allows a second harmonic signal to be obtained. A reduction in linewidth is observed (DC=9.26 mm, fundamental=4.02 mm, second harmonic=2.43 mm) in line scans of optically absorbing objects embedded in a scattering medium (thickness=16 mm, scattering coefficient=2.3 mm(-1), anisotropy factor=0.938).

Application of a maximum likelihood algorithm to ultrasound modulated optical tomography

In pulsed ultrasound modulated optical tomography (USMOT), an ultrasound (US) pulse performs as a scanning probe within the sample as it propagates, modulating the scattered light spatially distributed along its propagation axis. Detecting and processing the modulated signal can provide a 1-dimensional image along the US axis. A simple model is developed wherein the detected signal is modelled as a convolution of the US pulse and the properties (ultrasonic/optical) of the medium along the US axis. Based upon this model, a maximum likelihood (ML) method for image reconstruction is established. For the first time to our knowledge, the ML technique for an USMOT signal is investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The ML method inverts the data to retrieve the spatially varying properties of the sample along the US axis, and a signal proportional to the optical properties can be acquired. Simulated results show that the ML method can serve as a useful reconstruction tool for a pulsed USMOT signal even when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is close to unity. Experimental data using 5 cm thick tissue phantoms (scattering coefficient μ(s) = 6.5 cm(-1), anisotropy factor g=0.93) demonstrate that the axial resolution is 160 μm and the lateral resolution is 600 μm using a 10 MHz transducer.

Ultrasound-mediated optical tomography: a review of current methods

Ultrasound-mediated optical tomography (UOT) is a hybrid technique that is able to combine the high penetration depth and high spatial resolution of ultrasound imaging to overcome the limits imposed by optical scattering for deep tissue optical sensing and imaging. It has been proposed as a method to detect blood concentrations, oxygenation and metabolism at depth in tissue for the detection of vascularized tumours or the presence of absorbing or scattering contrast agents. In this paper, the basic principles of the method are outlined and methods for simulating the UOT signal are described. The main detection methods are then summarized with a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of each. The recent focus on increasing the weak UOT signal through the use of the acoustic radiation force is explained, together with a summary of our results showing sensitivity to the mechanical shear stiffness and optical absorption properties of tissue-mimicking phantoms.

Ultrasound-modulated optical imaging using a high-power pulsed laser and a double-pass confocal Fabry-Perot interferometer

We report the use of short ultrasonic bursts and high-peak-power laser pulses to detect absorbing objects in thick scattering media (SMs). The detection of ultrasound-tagged photons is performed with a double-pass confocal Fabry-Perot interferometer. Photons shifted by the fundamental and harmonic frequencies of the ultrasonic bursts were observed. Absorbing objects were detected in 30- and 60-mm-thick SMs including a sample of biological tissue.

Signal dependence and noise source in ultrasound-modulated optical tomography

A Monte Carlo modeling technique was used to simulate ultrasound-modulated optical tomography in inhomogeneous scattering media. The contributions from two different modulation mechanisms were included in the simulation. Results indicate that ultrasound-modulated optical signals are much more sensitive to small embedded objects than unmodulated intensity signals. The differences between embedded absorption and scattering objects in the ultrasound-modulated optical signals were compared. The effects of neighboring inhomogeneity and background optical properties on the ultrasound-modulated optical signals were also studied. We analyzed the signal-to-noise ratio in the experiment and found that the major noise source is the speckle noise caused by small particle movement within the biological tissue sample. We studied this effect by incorporating a Brownian motion factor in the simulation.

Transmission- and side-detection configurations in ultrasound-modulated optical tomography of thick biological tissues

Ultrasound-modulated optical tomography of thick biological tissues was studied based on speckle-contrast detection. Speckle decorrelation was investigated with biological tissue samples of various thicknesses. Images of optically absorbing objects buried in biological tissue samples with thicknesses up to 50 mm were obtained in a transmission-detection configuration. The image contrast was more than 30%, and the spatial resolution was approximately 2 mm. In addition, a side-detection scheme along with two specific configurations were examined, and the advantages were demonstrated. Experimental results implied feasibility of applying the ultrasound-modulation technique to characterize optical properties in inhomogeneous biological tissues.

High-contrast fast Fourier transform acousto-optical tomography of phantom tissues with a frequency-chirp modulation of the ultrasound

We report new results on acousto-optical tomography in phantom tissues using a frequency chirp modulation and a CCD camera. This technique allows quick recording of three-dimensional images of the optical contrast with a two-dimensional scan of the ultrasound source in a plane perpendicular to the ultrasonic path. The entire optical contrast along the ultrasonic path is concurrently obtained from the capture of a film sequence at a rate of 200 Hz. This technique reduces the acquisition time, and it enhances the axial resolution and thus the contrast, which are usually poor owing to the large volume of interaction of the ultrasound perturbation.