Handheld Ultrasound and Photoacoustic Dual-Modal Imaging With Sound Speed Correction Guided by Ultrasound Image

In recent years, handheld ultrasound (HHU) devices have made rapid advancements in the point-of-care ultrasound (US) field. These devices feature smaller packaging, user-friendly interfaces, and lower costs, providing unprecedented mobility and convenience to emergency departments. For traditional photoacoustic imaging (PAI) systems, although the integration of US probes and laser sources can be achieved—such as through the use of specific optical fibers and custom molds for portable imaging or miniaturized imaging devices based on laser diode (LED)—these systems require relatively bulky and expensive or separated acquisition systems. In this study, leveraging the development of HHU devices, we introduced a cost-effective 32-channel HHU (integrating the acquisition system into the US probe) into PAI to build a HHU-based US/PA dual-modal imaging system and using HHU images guide speed of sound (SoS) correction for PAI reconstruction. The proposed approach can advance low-cost, miniaturized US/PA dual-modal imaging technologies.