title: Coherent photoacoustic-ultrasound correlation and imaging.
abstract: Both photoacoustics and ultrasound have been researched extensively but separately. In this letter, we report an initial study on the coherent correlation between pulsed photoacoustic wave and pulse-echo ultrasound wave. By illuminating an object with a pulsed laser and external ultrasound sequentially, both the endogenous photoacoustic wave and pulse-echo ultrasound wave are received and coherently correlated, demonstrating enhanced signal-to-noise ratio. Image contrast of the proposed coherent photoacoustic-ultrasound imaging is also demonstrated to be improved significantly on vessel-mimicking phantom, due to fusion of the optical absorption and ultrasound reflection contrasts by coherent correlation of either conventional laser-induced photoacoustic imaging or pulse-echo ultrasound imaging separately.
authors.affiliation: School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
authors.forename: Xiaohua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
authors.forename: Yuanjin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens; D004867:Equipment Design; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D061088:Photoacoustic Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D059629:Signal-To-Noise Ratio; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*