Biomedical photoacoustics uses laser energy which is absorbed by tissue and transduced to a rapid thermal expansion so that the tissue becomes an active acoustic source. Using photoacoustics, burn wounds would be imaged, delineating the necrotic from viable tissue. The selective absorption of laser light by blood perfusion in the underlying viable tissue would give a depth map of the wound, using acoustic propagation time through the necrotic tissue. A photoacoustic probe will be designed and tested on tissue phantoms, animal models, and human subjects. The probe will consist of an optical fiber for laser light delivery and an acoustic sensor. The probe will scan the wound arid the signals will be analyzed using backprojection methods to derive a depth profile. This profile would allow clinical management of the wound, including optimal debridement of the necrotic tissue. The system will be non-invasive and provide a true image of the wound, something not currently available to the clinician.
| Yoshimura, Hiroyuki; Viator, John A; Jacques, Steven L (2005) Relationship between damaged fraction and reflected spectra of denaturing tissues. Lasers Surg Med 37:308-13 |
| Viator, John A; Komadina, Jason; Svaasand, Lars O et al. (2004) A comparative study of photoacoustic and reflectance methods for determination of epidermal melanin content. J Invest Dermatol 122:1432-9 |
