VIRTUAL IMAGING FRAMEWORK OF DYNAMIC PHOTOACOUSTIC COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY FOR SMALL ANIMALS

Soole, James

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124872 Copy

Description

Title

VIRTUAL IMAGING FRAMEWORK OF DYNAMIC PHOTOACOUSTIC COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY FOR SMALL ANIMALS

Author(s)

Soole, James

Issue Date

2022-05-01

Keyword(s)

photoacoustic computed tomography; PACT; dynamic PACT; virtual imaging trials; biomedical imaging

Abstract

Photoacoustic Computed Tomography (PACT) is a biomedical imaging modality used to acquire images of biological tissue and structures with a combination of optical and ultrasound techniques, avoiding ionizing radiation and the need to excise tissue. Dynamic PACT, using multiple sequential PACT images, can provide a method for visualizing biological material movement and physiological changes throughout a tissue over time. However, it can be very inefficient to assess and optimize imaging systems through clinical trials. Virtual Imaging Trials (VIT) offer an alternative: simulation. With computational models of imaging systems and objects, VITs can more cheaply and efficiently emulate a real-world PACT imaging system. This thesis describes the creation of a framework of dynamic PACT imaging simulations for small animals, simulating photon transport and acoustic wave propagation to produce simulated acoustic pressure measurements. The developed framework can be used for simulation of static and dynamic objects, with parameters easily updated to reflect the geometry of varied target imaging systems. Simulated output pressure measurements from this framework have been validated for static and dynamic imaging cases, producing outputs similar to those of their experimental counterparts. This framework creates a basis for running varied virtual trials of dynamic PACT imaging, allowing for use with different imaging systems and numerical phantoms. A user can run simulations with numerical phantoms of different sizes and shapes or optical and acoustic properties and can adjust illumination and measurement geometry to match that of the target imaging system they are emulating.

Type of Resource

text

Language

eng

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