In Vivo Photoacoustic Tomography of Chemicals: High-Resolution Functional and Molecular Optical Imaging at New Depths

High-resolution volumetric optical imaging modalities,
\nsuch as confocal microscopy, two-photon microscopy, and
\noptical coherence tomography, have become increasingly
\nimportant in the biomedical imaging field. However, due to
\nstrong light scattering, the penetration depths of these
\nimaging modalities are limited to the optical transport mean
\nfree path in biological tissues, for example, ∼1 mm in the
\nskin. Photoacoustic tomography (PAT), an emerging hybrid
\nimaging modality that can provide strong endogenous and
\nexogenous optical absorption contrasts with high ultrasonic
\nspatial resolution using the photoacoustic (PA) effect, has
\novercome the…