Time-resolved photoacoustic measurement for evaluation of viscoelastic properties of biological tissues

In this letter, we proposed a method forviscoelastic characterization of biologicaltissues based on time-resolved photoacousticmeasurement. The theoretical and experimental study was performed on the influence ofviscoelasticity effects on photoacoustic generation. Taking the time delay between the photoacoustic signal and the exciting laser, theviscoelasticity distribution of biologicaltissues can be mapped. To validate our method, gelatin phantoms with different densities weremeasured. We also applied this method in discrimination between fat andliver to confirm the usefulness of theviscoelastic evaluation. Furthermore, pilot experiments were performed on atherosclerosis artery from an apolipoprotein E-knockout mouse to show theviscoelastic characterization of atherosclerotic plaque. Our results demonstrate that this technique has the potential for visualizing thebiomechanical properties and lesions of biologicaltissues.

Source: Applied Physics Letters - November 17, 2016 Category: Physics Authors: Yue Zhao, Conggui Chen, Hongwei Liu, Sihua Yang and Da Xing Source Type: research