title: In vivo photoacoustic imaging of blood vessels using a homodyne interferometer with zero-crossing triggering.
abstract: We demonstrate a quasinoncontact photoacoustic imaging method using a homodyne interferometer with a long coherence length laser. The generated photoacoustic signal is detected by a system that is locked at its maximum sensitivity through the use of balanced detection and zero-crossing triggering. The balanced detector is substantially equalized, so its output is zero when the system reaches the maximum sensitivity. The synchronization approach is used to trigger the excitation and detection of the photoacoustic signal. The system is immune to ambient vibrations. A thin water layer on the sample surface is used to reduce the effect of the rough tissue surface. The performance of the system is demonstrated by in vivo imaging of the microvasculature in mouse ears.
authors.affiliation: Northeastern University at Qinhuangdao, School of Control Engineering, Qinhuangdao, China.
authors.forename: Jiao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Northeastern University at Qinhuangdao, School of Control Engineering, Qinhuangdao, China.
authors.forename: Yingzhe
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Northeastern University at Qinhuangdao, School of Control Engineering, Qinhuangdao, China.
authors.forename: Zhenhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Northeastern University at Qinhuangdao, School of Control Engineering, Qinhuangdao, China.
authors.forename: Hongxian
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: University of Washington, Department of Bioengineering, Seattle, Washington, United States.
authors.forename: Ruikang K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Northeastern University at Qinhuangdao, School of Control Engineering, Qinhuangdao, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D007368:Interferometry; D007834:Lasers; D008027:Light; D061088:Photoacoustic Techniques; D013057:Spectrum Analysis