Multifunctional photoacoustic signals detected by P(VDF/TrFE) film sensor with a wide range of frequency

Photoacoustics has been widely studied as a combined imaging modality of both optical and acoustical methods. The merits of the photoacoustic imaging are realizing the full potentials of pulsed laser- tissue interaction. As the photoacoustic waves can be induced at chromophores by pulsed lased irradiation through a thermoelastic process, it covers a wide range of frequency. In order to take advantages of the wide range frequency characteristics, we employed not PZT, but piezoelectronic copolymer film, P(VDF/TrFE) film, with various thickness ranging from 20 to 100 μm as photoacoustic transducers. Because blood vessels play a key role in homeostasis, we experimentally demonstrated blood vessels phantom using second harmonic generation of Q-switched Nd:YAG laser and Ti:sapphire nanosecond laser pulses through optical fiber transmission. The detected photoacoustic waveforms showed distinctive time-of-flight signals. The photoacoustic signals were sensitive to temperature, absorption coefficients of chromophores, and diameters of the phantom vessels. Hemoglobin oxygen saturation could be easily derived from the multi wavelength photoacoustic signals using differential optical absorption characteristics. These results proved the functional quantitative photoacoustic imaging using the signal characteristics. A multivariate photoacoustic imaging approach must be promising to convenient diagnosis.