Array-Based Real-Time Ultrasound and Photoacoustic Ocular Imaging

Although various ophthalmic imaging methods, including fundus photography and optical coherence tomography, have been applied for effective diagnosis of ocular diseases with high spatial resolution, most of them are limited by shallow imaging penetration depth and a narrow field of view. Also, many of those imaging modalities are optimized to provide microscopic anatomical information, while functional or cellular information is lacking. Compared to other ocular imaging modalities, photoacoustic imaging can achieve relatively deep penetration depth and provide more detailed functional and cellular data based on photoacoustic signal generation from endogenous contrast agents such as hemoglobin and melanin. In this paper, array-based ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging was demonstrated to visualize pigmentation in the eye as well as overall ocular structure. Fresh porcine eyes were visualized using a real-time ultrasound micro-imaging system and an imaging probe supporting laser pulse delivery. In addition, limited photoacoustic imaging field of view was improved by an imaging probe tilting method, enabling visualization of most regions of the retina covered in the ultrasound imaging.