Photoacoustic microscopy

Patent Pending Fig. 8 shows a representative PAM set-up.[1] A tunable dye laser is pumped by a Q-switched pulsed Nd:YAG (neodymium: yttrium aluminum garnet) laser. A short laser pulse at a certain wavelength between 532-770 nm is generated to irradiate the target tissue to induce acoustic pressure waves. Laser pulses of ~6 mJ/cm2 at the focus will be delivered at 10 Hz repetition rate. An optical fiber of 0.6 mm core diameter is coaxially positioned on a three-dimensional mechanical stage with changeable ultrasound transducers between 25-75 MHz.