Mitigating skin tone bias in linear array in vivo photoacoustic imaging with short-lag spatial coherence beamforming

IF 7.1 1区医学 Q1 ENGINEERING, BIOMEDICAL

Photoacoustics Pub Date : 2023-10-01 DOI:10.1016/j.pacs.2023.100555

Guilherme S.P. Fernandes , João H. Uliana , Luciano Bachmann , Antonio A.O. Carneiro , Muyinatu A. Lediju Bell , Theo Z. Pavan

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Abstract

Photoacoustic (PA) imaging has the potential to deliver non-invasive diagnostic information. However, skin tone differences bias PA target visualization, as the elevated optical absorption of melanated skin decreases optical fluence within the imaging plane and increases the presence of acoustic clutter. This paper demonstrates that short-lag spatial coherence (SLSC) beamforming mitigates this bias. PA data from the forearm of 18 volunteers were acquired with 750-, 810-, and 870-nm wavelengths. Skin tones ranging from light to dark were objectively quantified using the individual typology angle (ITA $°$ ). The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the radial artery (RA) and surrounding clutter were measured. Clutter was minimal (e.g., −16 dB relative to the RA) with lighter skin tones and increased to −8 dB with darker tones, which compromised RA visualization in conventional PA images. SLSC beamforming achieved a median SNR improvement of 3.8 dB, resulting in better RA visualization for all skin tones.

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利用短滞后空间相干波束形成减轻线性阵列体内光声成像中的肤色偏差

光声成像具有提供非侵入性诊断信息的潜力。然而，肤色差异会使PA目标可视化产生偏差，因为混合皮肤的光学吸收增加，降低了成像平面内的光学通量，并增加了声杂波的存在。本文证明了短滞后空间相干（SLSC）波束形成可以缓解这种偏差。来自18名志愿者前臂的PA数据是用750nm、810nm和870nm波长采集的。使用个体类型角度（ITA°）对从浅色到深色的肤色进行客观量化。测量了桡动脉和周围杂波的信噪比。肤色较浅时杂波最小（例如，相对于RA为−16 dB），肤色较深时杂波增加到−8 dB，这影响了传统PA图像中的RA可视化。SLSC波束成形实现了3.8dB的中值SNR改进，从而为所有肤色带来更好的RA可视化。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Photoacoustics Physics and Astronomy-Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

CiteScore

11.40

自引率

16.50%

发文量

审稿时长

53 days

期刊介绍： The open access Photoacoustics journal (PACS) aims to publish original research and review contributions in the field of photoacoustics-optoacoustics-thermoacoustics. This field utilizes acoustical and ultrasonic phenomena excited by electromagnetic radiation for the detection, visualization, and characterization of various materials and biological tissues, including living organisms. Recent advancements in laser technologies, ultrasound detection approaches, inverse theory, and fast reconstruction algorithms have greatly supported the rapid progress in this field. The unique contrast provided by molecular absorption in photoacoustic-optoacoustic-thermoacoustic methods has allowed for addressing unmet biological and medical needs such as pre-clinical research, clinical imaging of vasculature, tissue and disease physiology, drug efficacy, surgery guidance, and therapy monitoring. Applications of this field encompass a wide range of medical imaging and sensing applications, including cancer, vascular diseases, brain neurophysiology, ophthalmology, and diabetes. Moreover, photoacoustics-optoacoustics-thermoacoustics is a multidisciplinary field, with contributions from chemistry and nanotechnology, where novel materials such as biodegradable nanoparticles, organic dyes, targeted agents, theranostic probes, and genetically expressed markers are being actively developed. These advanced materials have significantly improved the signal-to-noise ratio and tissue contrast in photoacoustic methods.