Photoacoustic Microscopy of the Brain Through the Intact Skull

• Collaborators: Hamid Chabok, Pooya Shahriari, Shoroush Shafigh,
• Aug 2020 - July 2022

Accurate imaging of brain tumors is crucial for early diagnosis and effective treatment planning. Photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) combines optical contrast with acoustic detection to provide high-resolution images, but the skull significantly attenuates both light and acoustic waves. This physical barrier makes non-invasive imaging of brain tumors extremely challenging. Addressing this limitation is essential to enable reliable, high-resolution imaging through intact tissue, which could greatly improve diagnostic capabilities and patient outcomes.

To address the challenges of skull-induced attenuation in photoacoustic microscopy, we developed a novel adaptive liquid lens, termed C2AM, which reshapes the light into a focal line along the beam axis rather than a single focal point. This extended focus keeps light concentrated over a defined depth range in the brain, improving optical penetration and enhancing photoacoustic signal generation. The lens can also dynamically shift the location of the focal line by adjusting the applied voltage, allowing precise targeting of different regions without physically moving the lens. Simulations demonstrated that our C2AM-based approach provided significantly clearer and more accurate visualization of brain tumors compared to conventional photoacoustic microscopy.