TY - JOUR

T1 - Combined ultrasound and photoacoustic C-mode imaging system for skin lesion assessment

AU - Kukk, Anatoly Fedorov

AU - Scheling, Felix

AU - Panzer, Rüdiger

AU - Emmert, Steffen

AU - Roth, Bernhard

N1 - Funding Information: The authors acknowledge financial support from the German Research Foundation DFG (German Research Foundation, Project ID RO 3471/18-1 and EM 63/13-1). Also, financial support from the German Research Foundation (DFG) under Germany’s Excellence Strategy within the Cluster of Excellence PhoenixD (EXC 2122, Project ID 390833453) is acknowledged.

PY - 2023/12

Y1 - 2023/12

N2 - Accurate assessment of the size and depth of infiltration is critical for effectively treating and removing skin cancer, especially melanoma. However, existing methods such as skin biopsy and histologic examination are invasive, time-consuming, and may not provide accurate depth results. We present a novel system for simultaneous and co-localized ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging, with the application for non-invasive skin lesion size and depth measurement. The developed system integrates an acoustical mirror that is placed on an ultrasound transducer, which can be translated within a flexible water tank. This allows for 3D (C-mode) imaging, which is useful for mapping the skin structure and determine the invasion size and depth of lesions including skin cancer. For efficient reconstruction of photoacoustic images, we applied the open-source MUST library. The acquisition time per 2D image is <1 s and the pulse energies are below the legal Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) on human skin. We present the depth and resolution capabilities of the setup on several self-designed agar phantoms and demonstrate in vivo imaging on human skin. The setup also features an unobstructed optical window from the top, allowing for simple integration with other optical modalities. The perspective towards clinical application is demonstrated.

AB - Accurate assessment of the size and depth of infiltration is critical for effectively treating and removing skin cancer, especially melanoma. However, existing methods such as skin biopsy and histologic examination are invasive, time-consuming, and may not provide accurate depth results. We present a novel system for simultaneous and co-localized ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging, with the application for non-invasive skin lesion size and depth measurement. The developed system integrates an acoustical mirror that is placed on an ultrasound transducer, which can be translated within a flexible water tank. This allows for 3D (C-mode) imaging, which is useful for mapping the skin structure and determine the invasion size and depth of lesions including skin cancer. For efficient reconstruction of photoacoustic images, we applied the open-source MUST library. The acquisition time per 2D image is <1 s and the pulse energies are below the legal Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) on human skin. We present the depth and resolution capabilities of the setup on several self-designed agar phantoms and demonstrate in vivo imaging on human skin. The setup also features an unobstructed optical window from the top, allowing for simple integration with other optical modalities. The perspective towards clinical application is demonstrated.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85174501693&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/s41598-023-44919-5

DO - 10.1038/s41598-023-44919-5

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85174501693

VL - 13

JO - Scientific reports

JF - Scientific reports

SN - 2045-2322

IS - 1

M1 - 17947

ER -