Estimation of optoacoustic contrast agent concentration with self-calibration blind logarithmic unmixing

Phys Med Biol. 2014 Sep 7;59(17):4785-97. doi: 10.1088/0031-9155/59/17/4785. Epub 2014 Aug 6.

Abstract

Chromophore quantification in optoacoustic tomography is challenging due to signal contributions from strongly absorbing background tissue chromophores and the depth-dependent light attenuation. Herein we present a procedure capable of correcting for wavelength-dependent light fluence variations using a logarithmic representation of the images taken at different wavelengths assisted with a blind unmixing approach. It is shown that the serial expansion of the logarithm of an optoacoustic image contains a term representing the ratio between absorption of the probe of interest and other background components. Under assumptions of tissue-like background absorption variations, this term can be readily isolated with an unmixing algorithm, attaining quantitative maps of photo-absorbing agent distribution.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms*
  • Calibration
  • Contrast Media / standards*
  • Light
  • Tomography, Optical / methods*
  • Tomography, Optical / standards
  • Ultrasonography / methods*
  • Ultrasonography / standards

Substances

  • Contrast Media