The scanner, developed by researchers at University College London (UCL), London, England, could help clinicians better visualize and track microvascular changes for a wide range of diseases, including cancer, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and peripheral vascular disease (PVD).
In exploratory case studies, researchers demonstrated how the scanner visualized vessels with a corkscrew-like structure in patients with suspected PVD and mapped new blood vessel formation driven by inflammation in patients with RA.
PAT works using the photoacoustic effect, a phenomenon where sound waves are generated when light is absorbed by a material. When pulsed light from a laser is directed at tissue, some of that light is absorbed and causes an increase in heat in the targeted area. This localized heat also increases pressure, which generates ultrasound waves that can be detected by specialized sensors.
While previous PAT scanners translated these soundwaves to electric signals directly to generate imaging, UCL engineers developed a sensor in the early 2000s that can detect these ultrasound waves using light. The result was much clearer, 3D images.
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