title: A computer-based simulator for intravascular photoacoustic images.
abstract: Intravascular photoacoustic (IVPA) is a newly developed catheter-based imaging technique for the diagnosis of arterial atherosclerosis. A framework of simulating IVPA transversal images from a cross-sectional vessel model with given optical and acoustic parameters was presented. The light illumination and transportation in multi-layered wall and atherosclerotic plaque tissues were modeled through Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. The generation and transmission of photoacoustic (PA) waves in the acoustically homogeneous medium were modeled through the PA wave equation, which is solved explicitly with a finite difference time domain (FDTD) algorithm in polar coordinates. Finally, a series of cross-sectional gray-scale images displaying the distribution of the deposited optical energy were reconstructed from the time-dependent acoustic pressure series with a time-reversal based algorithm. Experimental results demonstrate a good correlation between the simulated IVPA images and the optical absorption distribution profiles. The simulator provides a powerful tool for generating IVPA image data sets, which are used to improve the imaging catheter and to test the performance of image post-processing algorithms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electronic and Communication Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Baoding 071003, Hebei, China. Electronic address: sunzheng_tju@163.com.
authors.forename: Sun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Electronic and Communication Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Baoding 071003, Hebei, China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Electronic and Communication Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Baoding 071003, Hebei, China.
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Duoduo
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular; D015233:Models, Statistical; D061088:Photoacoustic Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Atherosclerosis; Coronary artery; Image simulator; Intravascular photoacoustic (IVPA); Numerical simulation; Photoacoustic imaging