Tripling the detection view of high-frequency linear-array-based photoacoustic computed tomography by using two planar acoustic reflectors.

BACKGROUND Linear-array-based photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) suffers from a limited view. Circular scanning does increase the detection view angle but is time-consuming. Therefore, it is desirable to increase the detection view angle of linear-array-based PACT without sacrificing imaging speed. METHODS Two planar acoustic reflectors placed at 120 degrees to each other were added to a linear-array-based PACT system. Each reflector redirects originally undetectable photoacoustic waves back to the transducer array elements, and together they triple the original detection view angle of the PACT system. RESULTS Adding two reflectors increased the detection view angle from 80 to 240 degrees. As a comparison, a single-reflector PACT has a detection view angle of only 160 degrees. A leaf skeleton phantom with a rich vascular network was imaged with the double-reflector PACT, and most of its features were recovered. CONCLUSIONS The two acoustic reflectors triple the detection view angle of a linear-array-based PACT without compromising the original imaging speed. This nearly full-view detection capability produces higher-quality images than single-reflector PACT or conventional PACT without reflectors.