SignificanceOver 100 monoclonal antibodies have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clinical use; however, a paucity of knowledge exists regarding the injection site behavior of these formulated therapeutics, particularly the effect of antibody, formulation, and tissue at the injection site. A deeper understanding of antibody behavior at the injection site, especially on blood oxygenation through imaging, will help design improved versions of the therapeutics for a wide range of diseases.AimThe aim of this research is to understand the dynamics of monoclonal antibodies at the injection site as well as how the antibody itself affects the functional characteristics of the injection site [e.g., blood oxygen saturation (sO2)].ApproachWe employed triple-wavelength equipped functional photoacoustic imaging to study the dynamics of dye-labeled and unlabeled monoclonal antibodies at the site of injection in a mouse ear. We injected a near-infrared dye-labeled (and unlabeled) human IgG4 isotype control antibody into the subcutaneous space in mouse ears to analyze the injection site dynamics and quantify molecular movement, as well as its effect on local hemodynamics.ResultsWe performed pharmacokinetic studies of the antibody in different regions of the mouse body to show that dye labeling does not alter the pharmacokinetic characteristics of the antibody and that mouse ear is a viable model for these initial studies. We explored the movement of the antibody in the interstitial space to show that the bolus area grows by ∼300 % over 24 h. We discovered that injection of the antibody transiently reduces the local sO2 levels in mice after prolonged anesthesia without affecting the total hemoglobin content and oxygen extraction fraction.ConclusionsThis finding on local oxygen saturation opens a new avenue of study on the functional effects of monoclonal antibody injections. We also show the suitability of the mouse ear model to study antibody dynamics through high-resolution imaging techniques. We quantified the movement of antibodies at the injection site caused by the interstitial fluid, which could be helpful for designing antibodies with tailored absorption speeds in the future.
Photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) has been extensively explored in animal brains but never in the human brain due to its limited field of view (FOV), imaging speed, penetration depth, and sensitivity. Here, we present the first application of PACT in functional human brain imaging. Motor and language functional tasks were employed and performed by post-hemicraniectomy patients. The brain activities were recorded at a 10-cm–diameter FOV, 350-μm/2-s spatiotemporal resolution, and ~2-cm penetration depth using a newly developed massively parallel three-dimensional PACT system. Quantitative validation of the PACT results against 7 Tesla MRI revealed comparable angiographic structures and functional activation in the same FOV. The obtained results represent a critical step toward broader-scope human brain imaging applications using PACT technology.
We introduce a three-dimensional photoacoustic computed tomography (3D-PACT) system with unparalleled imaging depth, clarity, and speed, and demonstrate that the imaged structural and functional optical contrast provide a unique tool for preclinical research and an appealing prototype for clinical translation. 3D-PACT allows for multipurpose imaging of biological tissues ranging from the rodent brain to the human breast. In the rat brain, we visualized whole brain vasculatures, oxygenation dynamics, intrinsic functional connectivity, and electrical-stimulation-induced hemodynamics. In the human breast, an in vivo imaging depth of 4 cm has been achieved by scanning the breast within a single breath hold of 10 seconds. 3D-PACT holds a high reliability to reproducibly generate detailed images with a contrast similar to that provided by contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, yet with higher spatiotemporal resolution and without using exogenous contrast agents.
Significance: Mid-infrared (IR) imaging based on the vibrational transition of biomolecules provides good chemical-specific contrast in label-free imaging of biology tissues, making it a popular tool in both biomedical studies and clinical applications. However, the current technology typically requires thin and dried or extremely flat samples, whose complicated processing limits this technology’s broader translation.
Aim: To address this issue, we report mid-IR photoacoustic microscopy (PAM), which can readily work with fresh and thick tissue samples, even when they have rough surfaces.
Approach: We developed a transmission-mode mid-IR PAM system employing an optical parametric oscillation laser operating in the wavelength range from 2.5 to 12 μm. Due to its high sensitivity to optical absorption and the low ultrasonic attenuation of tissue, our PAM achieved greater probing depth than Fourier transform IR spectroscopy, thus enabling imaging fresh and thick tissue samples with rough surfaces.
Results: In our spectroscopy study, the CH2 symmetric stretching at 2850 cm − 1 (3508 nm) was found to be an excellent source of endogenous contrast for lipids. At this wavenumber, we demonstrated label-free imaging of the lipid composition in fresh, manually cut, and unprocessed tissue sections of up to 3-mm thickness.
Conclusions: Our technology requires no time-consuming sample preparation procedure and has great potential in both fast clinical histological analysis and fundamental biological studies.
Significance: Photoacoustic (PA) tomography has demonstrated versatile biomedical applications. However, an array-based PA computed tomography (PACT) system is complex and expensive, whereas a single-element detector-based scanning PA system is too slow to detect some fast biological dynamics in vivo. New PA imaging methods are sought after.
Aim: To overcome these limitations, we developed photoacoustic topography through an ergodic relay (PATER), a novel high-speed imaging system with a single-element detector.
Approach: PATER images widefield PA signals encoded by the acoustic ergodic relay with a single-laser shot.
Results: We applied PATER in vivo to monitor changes in oxygen saturation in a mouse brain and also to demonstrate high-speed matching of vascular patterns for biometric authentication.
Conclusions: PATER has achieved a high-speed temporal resolution over a large field of view. Our results suggest that PATER is a promising and economical alternative to PACT for fast imaging.
Significance: The initial dip in hemoglobin-oxygenation response to stimulations is a spatially confined endogenous indicator that is faster than the blood flow response, making it a desired label-free contrast to map the neural activity. A fundamental question is whether a single-impulse stimulus, much shorter than the response delay, could produce an observable initial dip without repeated stimulation.
Aim: To answer this question, we report high-speed functional photoacoustic (PA) microscopy to investigate the initial dip in mouse brains.
Approach: We developed a Raman-laser-based dual-wavelength functional PA microscope that can image capillary-level blood oxygenation at a 1-MHz one-dimensional imaging rate. This technology was applied to monitor the hemodynamics of mouse cerebral vasculature after applying an impulse stimulus to the forepaw.
Results: We observed a transient initial dip in cerebral microvessels starting as early as 0.13 s after the onset of the stimulus. The initial dip and the subsequent overshoot manifested a wave pattern propagating across different microvascular compartments.
Conclusions: We quantified both spatially and temporally the single-impulse-stimulated microvascular hemodynamics in mouse brains at single-vessel resolution. Fast label-free imaging of single-impulse response holds promise for real-time brain–computer interfaces.
Label-free mid-infrared (MIR) imaging provides rich chemical and structural information of biological tissues without staining. Conventionally, the long MIR wavelength severely limits the lateral resolution owing to optical diffraction; moreover, the strong MIR absorption of water ubiquitous in fresh biological samples results in high background and low contrast. Here, we present a novel approach, called ultraviolet-localized MIR photoacoustic microscopy (ULM-PAM), to achieve high-resolution and water-background–free MIR imaging of fresh biological samples. In our approach, a pulsed MIR laser thermally excites the sample at the focal spot, and a pulsed ultraviolet (UV) laser photoacoustically detects the resulting transient temperature rise owing to the Grüneisen relaxation effect, thereby reporting the intensity of the MIR absorption by the sample. The imaging resolution of our method is determined by the wavelength of the UV laser, which is one order of magnitude shorter than that of the mid-IR laser (2.5 μm to 12 μm). In addition, in the UV region from 200 nm to 230 nm, most important organic molecules in biological tissues, including proteins, lipids and nuclei acids, have strong absorption, while water is transparent. Therefore, our method can achieve high resolution and water-background free IR imaging of fresh biological samples. For cell cultures, our method achieved high-resolution and high-contrast infrared imaging of lipids, proteins. The capability of label-free histology of this method is also demonstrated in thick biological tissues, such as brain slices. Our approach provides convenient high-resolution and high-contrast MIR imaging, which can benefit diagnosis of fresh biological samples.
To date, most optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM) systems rely on mechanical scanning with confocally aligned optical excitation and ultrasonic detection. As a result, the imaging speed of these systems is limited by the scanning speed. Although several multifocal OR-PA computed tomography (MFOR-PACT) systems had been developed to address this limitation, they were hindered by the complex design in a constrained physical space. Here, we present a two-dimensional (2D) MFOR-PAM system based on a 2D microlens array and an acoustic ergodic relay. This system is able to detect PA signals generated from 400 optical foci in parallel with a single-element transducer, and then raster scan the optical foci patterns to form an image. This system has improved the imaging resolution of a conventional photoacoustic ergodic relay system from 220 μm to 13 μm. Moreover, this system has reduced the imaging time of a conventional OR-PAM system at the same resolution and laser repetition rate by 400 times. We demonstrated the ability of the system with both in vitro and in vivo experiments.
Label-free functional photoacoustic microscopy (fPAM) has become a popular technology in small-animal hemodynamic studies. Here we report a stimulated-Raman-scattering-based (SRS) dual-wavelength high-speed fPAM that has achieved volumetric imaging at a 1 MHz A-line rate with capillary-level resolution. Potassium gadolinium tungstate (KGd(WO4)2) crystal is used as a Raman shifter to convert the pump 532 nm picosecond-pulsed laser to the first order Stokes line at 558 nm through the SRS effect with ~40% efficiency and a much narrower line width compared with previous fiber-based SRS PAMs. We also developed a water-immersible micro-electro-mechanical system scanner for scanning a ~4-mm range at a 500 Hz B-scan rate, while maintaining the optic-acoustic confocal alignment. This scanner is assembled entirely from commercially available components, facilitating replication. The detection sensitivity of our fPAM is also improved by employing a high numerical aperture polyvinylidene fluoride ultrasonic transducer, whose acoustic impedance matches better with tissue coupling medium than traditional ceramic transducers. The high sensitivity combined with ~2.4 µm resolution enabled our fPAM to image single red blood cells with a signal-to-noise ratio of ~27 dB. Compared with our previous laser-pulse-width based fPAM, we achieved simultaneous imaging of hemoglobin concentration and oxygenation with a 5-fold increase in imaging speed. Moreover, our system works in a convenient free-space manner compared to previous SRS-based PAMs. We applied it to imaging vasculature and blood oxygen saturation on mouse brains in both resting and stimulated states.
Photoacoustic (PA) computed tomography (PACT) is a non-invasive imaging technique offering optical contrast, high resolution, and deep penetration in biological tissues. PACT, highly sensitive to optical absorption by molecules, is inherently suited for molecular imaging using optically absorbing probes. Genetically encoded probes with photochromic behavior dramatically increase detection sensitivity and specificity of PACT through photoswitching and differential imaging. Starting with a DrBphP bacterial phytochrome, we have engineered a near-infrared photochromic probe, DrBphP-PCM, which is superior to the full-length RpBphP1 phytochrome previously used in differential PACT. DrBphP-PCM has a smaller size, better folding, and higher photoswitching contrast. We have also developed an advanced PACT technique, which combines the reversibly-switchable photochromic probes with single-impulse panoramic PACT, termed RS-SIP-PACT. Using RS-SIP-PACT, we have characterized DrBphP-PCM both in vitro and in vivo as an advanced near-infrared photochromic probe for PACT. We introduce two phytochromes into the same mammalian cells, resulting in a distinctive decay characteristic in comparison with the cells expressing DrBphP-PCM only. By discriminating the different decay characteristics, we successfully separate multiple cell types in deep tissues. The simple structural organization of DrBphP-PCM allows engineering a bimolecular PA complementation reporter, a split version of DrBphP-PCM, termed DrSplit. DrSplit enables PA detection of protein-protein interactions in deepseated mouse tumors and livers, achieving 125-μm spatial resolution and 530-cell sensitivity in vivo. The combination of RS-SIP-PACT with DrBphP-PCM and DrSplit holds great potential for non-invasive multi-contrast deep-tissue functional imaging.
An estimated ~250,000 new cases of both invasive and non-invasive breast cancer were diagnosed in US women almost every year. To reduce the local recurrence rate, the breast conserving surgery (BCS) is widely used as the initial therapy, which is to excise the tumor with a rim of normal surrounding tissue such that no cancer cells remain at the cut margin, Patients with positive margin commonly require a second surgical procedure to obtain clear margins. To this end, optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM) with ultraviolet (UV) laser illumination (OR-UV-PAM) has been developed for providing label-free, high-resolution, and histology like imaging of fixed, unprocessed breast tissue. To further improve the performance of OR-UV-PAM, here, we introduce dual-view UV-PAM (DV-UV-PAM) to significantly improve the axial resolution, achieving three-dimensional (3D) resolution isotropy. We first use 0.5 μm polystyrene beads and carbon fibers to validate the resolution isotropy improvement. Imaging of mouse brain slices further demonstrates the improved resolution isotropy, revealing the 3D structure of cell nuclei in detail, which facilitates quantitative cell nuclear analysis.
KEYWORDS: Scattering, Photoacoustic spectroscopy, Tissue optics, Tissues, Connective tissue, In vivo imaging, Cervix, Infrared photography, Infrared radiation, Monte Carlo methods
Premature cervical remodeling is a critical precursor of spontaneous preterm birth, and the remodeling process is characterized by an increase in tissue hydration. Nevertheless, current clinical measurements of cervical remodeling are subjective and detect only late events, such as cervical effacement and dilation. Here, we present a photoacoustic endoscope that can quantify tissue hydration by measuring near-infrared cervical spectra. We quantify the water contents of tissue-mimicking hydrogel phantoms as an analog of cervical connective tissue. Applying this method to pregnant women in vivo, we observed an increase in the water content of the cervix throughout pregnancy. The application of this technique in maternal healthcare may advance our understanding of cervical remodeling and provide a sensitive method for predicting preterm birth.
Photoacoustic endoscopy offers in vivo examination of the visceral tissue using endogenous contrast, but its typical B-scan rate is ∼10 Hz, restricted by the speed of the scanning unit and the laser pulse repetition rate. Here, we present a transvaginal fast-scanning optical-resolution photoacoustic endoscope with a 250-Hz B-scan rate over a 3-mm scanning range. Using this modality, we not only illustrated the morphological differences of vasculatures among the human ectocervix, uterine body, and sublingual mucosa but also showed the longitudinal and cross-sectional differences of cervical vasculatures in pregnant women. This technology is promising for screening the visceral pathological changes associated with angiogenesis.
Optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM) has demonstrated fast, label-free volumetric imaging of optical-absorption contrast within the quasiballistic regime of photon scattering. However, the limited numerical aperture of the ultrasonic transducer restricts the detectability of the photoacoustic waves, thus resulting in incomplete reconstructed features. To tackle the limited-view problem, we added an oblique illumination beam to the original coaxial optical-acoustic scheme to provide a complementary detection view. The virtual augmentation of the detection view was validated through numerical simulations and tissue-phantom experiments. More importantly, the combination of top and oblique illumination successfully imaged a mouse brain in vivo down to 1 mm in depth, showing detailed brain vasculature. Of special note, it clearly revealed the diving vessels that were long missing in images from original OR-PAM.
KEYWORDS: Breast, Photoacoustic tomography, In vivo imaging, Breast cancer, Angiography, Temporal resolution, 3D image reconstruction, Tumors, Elastography, Computing systems
We have developed a single-breath-hold photoacoustic computed tomography (SBH-PACT) system to detect tumors and reveal detailed angiographic information about human breasts. SBH-PACT provides high spatial and temporal resolutions with a deep in vivo penetration depth of over 4 cm. A volumetric breast image can be acquired by scanning the breast within a single breath hold (~15 sec). We imaged a healthy female volunteer and seven breast cancer patients. SBH-PACT clearly identified all tumors by revealing higher blood vessel densities and lower compliance associated with the tumors
Ultraviolet photoacoustic microscopy (UV-PAM) is a promising intraoperative tool for surgical margin assessment (SMA), one that can provide label-free histology-like images with high resolution. In this study, using a microlens array and a one-dimensional (1-D) array ultrasonic transducer, we developed a high-throughput multifocal UV-PAM (MF-UV-PAM). Our new system achieved a 1.6 ± 0.2 μm lateral resolution and produced images 40 times faster than the previously developed point-by-point scanning UV-PAM. MF-UV-PAM provided a readily comprehensible photoacoustic image of a mouse brain slice with specific absorption contrast in ∼16 min, highlighting cell nuclei. Individual cell nuclei could be clearly resolved, showing its practical potential for intraoperative SMA.
In biomedical imaging, all optical techniques face a fundamental trade-off between spatial resolution and tissue penetration. Therefore, obtaining an organelle-level resolution image of a whole organ has remained a challenging and yet appealing scientific pursuit. Over the past decade, optical microscopy assisted by mechanical sectioning or chemical clearing of tissue has been demonstrated as a powerful technique to overcome this dilemma, one of particular use in imaging the neural network. However, this type of techniques needs lengthy special preparation of the tissue specimen, which hinders broad application in life sciences. Here, we propose a new label-free three-dimensional imaging technique, named microtomy-assisted photoacoustic microscopy (mPAM), for potentially imaging all biomolecules with 100% endogenous natural staining in whole organs with high fidelity. We demonstrate the first label-free mPAM, using UV light for label-free histology-like imaging, in whole organs (e.g., mouse brains), most of them formalin-fixed and paraffin- or agarose-embedded for minimal morphological deformation. Furthermore, mPAM with dual wavelength illuminations is also employed to image a mouse brain slice, demonstrating the potential for imaging of multiple biomolecules without staining. With visible light illumination, mPAM also shows its deep tissue imaging capability, which enables less slicing and hence reduces sectioning artifacts. mPAM could potentially provide a new insight for understanding complex biological organs.
Metastasis is responsible for as many as 90% of cancer-related deaths, and the deadliest skin cancer, melanoma, has a high propensity for metastasis. Since hematogenous spread of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is cancer’s main route of metastasis, detecting and destroying CTCs can impede metastasis and improve patients’ prognoses. Extensive studies employing exogenous agents to detect tumor-specific biomarkers and guide therapeutics to CTCs have achieved promising results, but biosafety remains a critical concern. Taking another approach, physical detection and destruction of CTCs is a safer way to evaluate and reduce metastasis risks. Melanoma cells strongly express melanosomes, providing a striking absorption contrast with the blood background in the red to near-infrared spectrum. Exploiting this intrinsic optical absorption contrast of circulating melanoma cells, we coupled dual-wavelength photoacoustic flow cytography with a nanosecond-pulsed laser killing mechanism that specifically targets melanoma CTCs. We have successfully achieved in vivo label-free imaging of rare single CTCs and CTC clusters in mice. Further, the photoacoustic signal from a CTC immediately hardware-triggers a lethal pinpoint laser irradiation that lyses it on the spot in a thermally confined manner. Our technology can facilitate early inhibition of metastasis by clearing circulating tumor cells from vasculature.
Imaging of small animals, especially rodents provides physiological, pathological, and phenotypical insights into the most relevant milieu—an intact, living system. Currently, non-optical small-animal wholebody imaging approaches lack either spatiotemporal resolution or functional contrasts, whereas pure optical imaging suffers from either shallow penetration (up to ~1 mm) or a poor resolution-to-depth ratio (~1/3). Here, we present a standalone system that breaks all the above limitations. Our system features high spatiotemporal resolution and deep penetration, and can capture anatomical and functional contrasts. We imaged mouse wholebody dynamics in real time with clear sub-organ anatomical and functional details.
Optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM) offers label-free in vivo imaging with high spatial resolution by acoustically detecting optical absorption contrasts via the photoacoustic effect. We developed a compact handheld OR-PAM probe for fast photoacoustic imaging. Different from benchtop microscopes, the handheld probe provides flexibility in imaging various anatomical sites. Resembling a cup in size, the probe uses a two-axis water-immersible microelectromechanical system mirror to scan both the illuminating optical beam and resultant acoustic beam. The system performance was tested in vivo by imaging the capillary bed in a mouse ear and both the capillary bed and a mole on a human volunteer.
Grueneisen relaxation photoacoustic microscopy (GR-PAM) can achieve optically defined axial resolution, but it has been limited to ex vivo demonstrations so far. Here, we present the first in vivo image of a mouse brain acquired with GR-PAM. To induce the GR effect, an intensity-modulated continuous-wave laser was employed to heat absorbing objects. In phantom experiments, an axial resolution of 12.5 μm was achieved, which is sixfold better than the value achieved by conventional optical-resolution PAM. This axial-resolution improvement was further demonstrated by imaging a mouse brain in vivo, where significantly narrower axial profiles of blood vessels were observed. The in vivo demonstration of GR-PAM shows the potential of this modality for label-free and high-resolution anatomical and functional imaging of biological tissues.
Optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM) can achieve submicron lateral resolution by tightly focusing the excitation light, while the axial resolution is still limited by the frequency bandwidth of the ultrasonic transducer. The Grueneisen relaxation effect, in which the Grueneisen parameter changes within the thermal relaxation time following a laser impulse heating, can provide excellent axial resolution due to its optical sectioning property. Based on this effect, Grueneisen relaxation photoacoustic microscopy (GR-PAM) was developed and demonstrated ex vivo. Here, we present for the first time in vivo imaging of mouse brains with improved axial resolution based on GR-PAM. An intensity-modulated continuous-wave (CW) 532 nm laser thermally heated the in-focus absorber. Another 532 nm pulsed laser, which is aligned confocally with the CW laser, generated the photoacoustic (PA) signal from the absorber. The difference between the amplitudes of the photoacoustic signals with and without heating was used for image reconstruction. The achieved axial resolution is ~12.5 µm, which is fivefold better than the acoustically determined value for a 20 MHz-bandwidth ultrasound transducer. The system was demonstrated by imaging a blood-filled tube ex vivo and blood vessels of mouse brains in vivo. The blood-filled tube diameter obtained from the PA image by GR-PAM is 105 µm, which is much closer to its actual diameter (100 µm) than the value from conventional OR-PAM (160 µm). This axial resolution improvement was further validated in imaging mouse brains in vivo, and yielded significantly narrower axial profiles of the vessels. This in vivo demonstration of imaging by GR-PAM might inspire more applications in PA biomedical imaging and sensing.
The short focal depth of a Gaussian beam limits the volumetric imaging speed of optical resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM). A Bessel beam, which is diffraction-free, provides a long focal depth, but its side-lobes may deteriorate image quality when the Bessel beam is directly employed to excite photoacoustic signals in ORPAM. Here, we present a nonlinear approach based on the Grueneisen relaxation effect to suppress the side-lobe artifacts in photoacoustic imaging. This method extends the focal depth of OR-PAM and speeds up volumetric imaging. We experimentally demonstrated a 1-mm focal depth with a 7-μm lateral resolution and volumetrically imaged a carbon fiber and red blood cell samples.
The short focal depth of a Gaussian beam limits the volumetric imaging speed of optical resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM). A Bessel beam, which is diffraction free, provides a long focal depth, but its side lobes deteriorate image quality when the Bessel beam is directly employed to excite photoacoustic (PA) signals in OR-PAM. We present a nonlinear approach based on the Grueneisen relaxation effect to suppress the side-lobe artifacts in PA imaging. This method extends the focal depth of OR-PAM and speeds up volumetric imaging. We experimentally demonstrated a 1-mm focal depth with a 7-μm lateral resolution and volumetrically imaged a carbon fiber and red blood cell samples.
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