Imaging through a square multimode fiber by scanning focused spots with the memory effect.

The existence of a shift-shift memory effect in square waveguides, whereby any translation of the input field induces translations in the output field in four symmetrical directions, has been previously observed by correlation measurements. Here we demonstrate that this memory effect is also observed in real space and can be put to use for imaging purposes. First, a focus is created at the output of a square-core multimode fiber, by wavefront shaping based on feedback from a guide-star. Then, because of the memory effect, four symmetrical spots can be scanned at the fiber output by shifting the wavefront at the fiber input. We demonstrate that this property can be exploited to perform fluorescence imaging through the multimode fiber, without requiring the measurement of a transmission matrix.

Speckle-correlation imaging through a kaleidoscopic multimode fiber.

Speckle-correlation imaging techniques are widely used for noninvasive imaging through complex scattering media. While light propagation through multimode fibers and scattering media share many analogies, reconstructing images through multimode fibers from speckle correlations remains an unsolved challenge. Here, we exploit a kaleidoscopic memory effect emerging in square-core multimode fibers and demonstrate fluorescence imaging with no prior knowledge on the fiber. Experimentally, our approach simply requires to translate random speckle patterns at the input of a square-core fiber and to measure the resulting fluorescence intensity with a bucket detector. The image of the fluorescent object is then reconstructed from the autocorrelation of the measured signal by solving an inverse problem. This strategy does not require the knowledge of the fragile deterministic relation between input and output fields, which makes it promising for the development of flexible minimally invasive endoscopes.

Full-visibility 3D imaging of oxygenation and blood flow by simultaneous multispectral photoacoustic fluctuation imaging (MS-PAFI) and ultrasound Doppler.

We present a method and setup that provide complementary three-dimensional (3D) images of blood oxygenation (via quantitative photoacoustic imaging) and blood flow dynamics (via ultrasound Doppler). The proposed approach is label-free and exploits blood-induced fluctuations, and is implemented on a sparse array with only 256 elements, driven with a commercially available ultrasound electronics. We first implement 3D photoacoustic fluctuation imaging (PAFI) to image chicken embryo, and obtain full-visibility images of the vascular morphology. We obtain simultaneously 3D ultrasound power Doppler with a comparable image quality. We then introduce multispectral photoacoustic fluctuation imaging (MS-PAFI), and demonstrate that it can provide quantitative measurements of the absorbed optical energy density with full visibility and enhanced contrast, as compared to conventional delay-and-sum multispectral photoacoustic imaging. We finally showcase the synergy and complementarity between MS-PAFI, which provides 3D quantitative oxygenation (SO[Formula: see text]) imaging, and 3D ultrasound Doppler, which provides quantitative information on blood flow dynamics. MS-PAFI represents a promising alternative to model-based inversions with the advantage of resolving all the visibility artefacts without prior and regularization, by use of a straightforward processing scheme.

Optical memory effect in square multimode fibers.

We demonstrate experimentally the existence of a translational optical memory effect in square-core multimode fibers. We found that symmetry properties of square-core waveguides lead to speckle patterns shifting along four directions at the fiber output for any given shift direction at the input. A simple theoretical model based on a perfectly reflective square waveguide is introduced to predict and interpret this phenomenon. We report experimental results obtained with 532-nm coherent light propagating through a square-core step-index multimode fiber, demonstrating that this translational memory effect can be observed for shift distances up to typically 10 µm after propagation through several centimeters of fiber.

Polyhedral Bubble Vibrations.

Underwater bubbles are extremely good acoustic resonators, but are freely evolving and dissolving. Recently it was found that bubbles can be stabilized in frames, but the influence of the frame shape is still undocumented. Here we first explore the vibration of polyhedral bubbles with a low number of faces, shaped as the five Platonic solids. Their resonance frequency is well approximated by the formula for spherical bubbles with the same volume. Then we extend these results to shapes with a larger number of faces using fullerenes, paving the way to obtain arbitrary large resonant bubbles.

Optimal Control of Coherent Light Scattering for Binary Decision Problems.

Because of quantum noise fluctuations, the rate of error achievable in decision problems involving several possible configurations of a scattering system is subject to a fundamental limit known as the Helstrom bound. Here, we present a general framework to calculate and minimize this bound using coherent probe fields with tailored spatial distributions. As an example, we experimentally study a target located in between two disordered scattering media. We first show that the optimal field distribution can be directly identified using a general approach based on scattering matrix measurements. We then demonstrate that this optimal light field successfully probes the presence of the target with a number of photons that is reduced by more than 2 orders of magnitude as compared to unoptimized fields.

Compensating for visibility artefacts in photoacoustic imaging with a deep learning approach providing prediction uncertainties.

Conventional photoacoustic imaging may suffer from the limited view and bandwidth of ultrasound transducers. A deep learning approach is proposed to handle these problems and is demonstrated both in simulations and in experiments on a multi-scale model of leaf skeleton. We employed an experimental approach to build the training and the test sets using photographs of the samples as ground truth images. Reconstructions produced by the neural network show a greatly improved image quality as compared to conventional approaches. In addition, this work aimed at quantifying the reliability of the neural network predictions. To achieve this, the dropout Monte-Carlo procedure is applied to estimate a pixel-wise degree of confidence on each predicted picture. Last, we address the possibility to use transfer learning with simulated data in order to drastically limit the size of the experimental dataset.

Single-shot hybrid photoacoustic-fluorescent microendoscopy through a multimode fiber with wavefront shaping.

We present a minimally-invasive endoscope based on a multimode fiber that combines photoacoustic and fluorescence sensing. From the measurement of a transmission matrix during a prior calibration step, a focused spot is produced and raster-scanned over a sample at the distal tip of the fiber by use of a fast spatial light modulator. An ultra-sensitive fiber-optic ultrasound sensor for photoacoustic detection placed next to the fiber is combined with a photodetector to obtain both fluorescence and photoacoustic images with a distal imaging tip no larger than 250 µm. The high signal-to-noise ratio provided by wavefront shaping based focusing and the ultra-sensitive ultrasound sensor enables imaging with a single laser shot per pixel, demonstrating fast two-dimensional hybrid in vitro imaging of red blood cells and fluorescent beads.

Super-resolution photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging with sparse arrays.

It has previously been demonstrated that model-based reconstruction methods relying on a priori knowledge of the imaging point spread function (PSF) coupled to sparsity priors on the object to image can provide super-resolution in photoacoustic (PA) or in ultrasound (US) imaging. Here, we experimentally show that such reconstruction also leads to super-resolution in both PA and US imaging with arrays having much less elements than used conventionally (sparse arrays). As a proof of concept, we obtained super-resolution PA and US cross-sectional images of microfluidic channels with only 8 elements of a 128-elements linear array using a reconstruction approach based on a linear propagation forward model and assuming sparsity of the imaged structure. Although the microchannels appear indistinguishable in the conventional delay-and-sum images obtained with all the 128 transducer elements, the applied sparsity-constrained model-based reconstruction provides super-resolution with down to only 8 elements. We also report simulation results showing that the minimal number of transducer elements required to obtain a correct reconstruction is fundamentally limited by the signal-to-noise ratio. The proposed method can be straigthforwardly applied to any transducer geometry, including 2D sparse arrays for 3D super-resolution PA and US imaging.

Acoustics of Cubic Bubbles: Six Coupled Oscillators.

We introduce cubic bubbles that are pinned to 3D printed millimetric frames immersed in water. Cubic bubbles are more stable over time and space than standard spherical bubbles, while still allowing large oscillations of their faces. We find that each face can be described as a harmonic oscillator coupled to the other ones. These resonators are coupled by the gas inside the cube but also by acoustic interactions in the liquid. We provide an analytical model and 3D numerical simulations predicting the resonance with very good agreement. Acoustically, cubic bubbles prove to be good monopole subwavelength emitters, with nonemissive secondary surface modes.

Overcoming the acoustic diffraction limit in photoacoustic imaging by the localization of flowing absorbers.

The resolution of photoacoustic imaging deep inside scattering media is limited by the acoustic diffraction limit. In this Letter, taking inspiration from super-resolution imaging techniques developed to beat the optical diffraction limit, we demonstrate that the localization of individual optical absorbers can provide super-resolution photoacoustic imaging well beyond the acoustic diffraction limit. As a proof-of-principle experiment, photoacoustic cross-sectional images of microfluidic channels were obtained with a 15 MHz linear capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer array, while absorbing beads were flown through the channels. The localization of individual absorbers allowed us to obtain a super-resolved cross-sectional image of the channels by reconstructing both the channel width and position with an accuracy better than λ/10. Given the discrete nature of endogenous absorbers such as red blood cells, or that of exogenous particular contrast agents, localization is a promising approach to push the current resolution limits of photoacoustic imaging.

Photoacoustic imaging beyond the acoustic diffraction-limit with dynamic speckle illumination and sparse joint support recovery.

In deep tissue photoacoustic imaging the spatial resolution is inherently limited by the acoustic wavelength. Recently, it was demonstrated that it is possible to surpass the acoustic diffraction limit by analyzing fluctuations in a set of photoacoustic images obtained under unknown speckle illumination patterns. Here, we purpose an approach to boost reconstruction fidelity and resolution, while reducing the number of acquired images by utilizing a compressed sensing computational reconstruction framework. The approach takes into account prior knowledge of the system response and sparsity of the target structure. We provide proof of principle experiments of the approach and demonstrate that improved performance is obtained when both speckle fluctuations and object priors are used. We numerically study the expected performance as a function of the measurement's signal to noise ratio and sample spatial-sparsity. The presented reconstruction framework can be applied to analyze existing photoacoustic experimental data sets containing dynamic fluctuations.

Photoacoustics with coherent light.

Since its introduction in the mid-nineties, photoacoustic imaging of biological tissue has been one of the fastest growing biomedical imaging modality, and its basic principles are now considered as well established. In particular, light propagation in photoacoustic imaging is generally considered from the perspective of transport theory. However, recent breakthroughs in optics have shown that coherent light propagating through optically scattering medium could be manipulated towards novel imaging approaches. In this article, we first provide an introduction to the relevant concepts in the field, and then review the recent works showing that it is possible to exploit the coherence of light in conjunction with photoacoustics. We illustrate how the photoacoustic effect can be used as a powerful feedback mechanism for optical wavefront shaping in complex media, and conversely show how the coherence of light can be exploited to enhance photoacoustic imaging, for instance in terms of spatial resolution or for designing minimally invasive endoscopic devices. Finally, we discuss the current challenges and perspectives down the road towards practical applications in the field of photoacoustic imaging.

Towards new applications using capillary waveguides.

In this paper we demonstrate the enhancement of the sensing capabilities of glass capillaries. We exploit their properties as optical and acoustic waveguides to transform them potentially into high resolution minimally invasive endoscopic devices. We show two possible applications of silica capillary waveguides demonstrating fluorescence and optical-resolution photoacoustic imaging using a single 330 µm-thick silica capillary. A nanosecond pulsed laser is focused and scanned in front of a capillary by digital phase conjugation through the silica annular ring of the capillary, used as an optical waveguide. We demonstrate optical-resolution photoacoustic images of a 30 µm-thick nylon thread using the water-filled core of the same capillary as an acoustic waveguide, resulting in a fully passive endoscopic device. Moreover, fluorescence images of 1.5 µm beads are obtained collecting the fluorescence signal through the optical waveguide. This kind of silica-capillary waveguide together with wavefront shaping techniques such as digital phase conjugation, paves the way to minimally invasive multi-modal endoscopy.

Single-side access, isotropic resolution, and multispectral three-dimensional photoacoustic imaging with rotate-translate scanning of ultrasonic detector array.

Photoacoustic imaging can achieve high-resolution three-dimensional (3-D) visualization of optical absorbers at penetration depths of ∼1 cm in biological tissues by detecting optically induced high ultrasound frequencies. Tomographic acquisition with ultrasound linear arrays offers an easy implementation of single-side access, parallelized, and high-frequency detection, but usually comes with an image quality impaired by the directionality of the detectors. Indeed, a simple translation of the array perpendicular to its median imaging plane is often used, but results both in a poor resolution in the translation direction and strong limited-view artifacts.To improve the spatial resolution and the visibility of complex structures while retaining a planar detection geometry, we introduce, in this paper, a rotate-translate scanning scheme and investigate the performance ofa scanner implemented at 15 MHz center frequency. The developed system achieved a quasi-isotropic uniform 3-D resolution of ∼170 µm over a cubic volume of side length 8.5 mm, i.e., an improvement in the resolution in the translation direction by almost one order of magnitude. Dual-wavelength imaging was also demonstrated with ultrafast wavelength shifting. The validity of our approach was shown in vitro. We discuss the ability to enable in vivo imaging for preclinical and clinical studies.

Influence of nanoscale temperature rises on photoacoustic generation: Discrimination between optical absorbers based on thermal nonlinearity at high frequency.

In this work, we experimentally investigate thermal-based nonlinear photoacoustic generation as a mean to discriminate between different types of absorbing particles. The photoacoustic generation from solutions of dye molecules and gold nanospheres (same optical densities) was detected using a high frequency ultrasound transducer (20 MHz). Photoacoustic emission was observed with gold nanospheres at low fluence for an equilibrium temperature around 4 °C, where the linear photoacoustic effect in water vanishes, highlighting the nonlinear emission from the solution of nanospheres. The photoacoustic amplitude was also studied as a function of the equilibrium temperature from 2 °C to 20 °C. While the photoacoustic amplitude from the dye molecules vanished around 4 °C, the photoacoustic amplitude from the gold nanospheres remained significant over the whole temperature range. Our preliminary results suggest that in the context of high frequency photoacoustic imaging, nanoparticles may be discriminated from molecular absorbers based on nanoscale temperature rises.

Improving photoacoustic-guided optical focusing in scattering media by spectrally filtered detection.

We study the potential of photoacoustic guidance for light focusing through scattering samples via wavefront-shaping and iterative optimization. We experimentally demonstrate that the focusing efficiency on an extended absorber can be improved by iterative optimization of the high frequency components of the broadband photoacoustic signal detected with a spherically focused transducer. We demonstrate more than 12-fold increase in the photoacoustic signal generated by a 30 µm wire using a narrow frequency band around 60 MHz. By monitoring the speckle pattern evolution during the optimization process with a CCD camera, we experimentally confirm that such optimization leads to a smaller optical focus than what would be obtained by optimizing lower frequencies of the photoacoustic feedback.

Light focusing and two-dimensional imaging through scattering media using the photoacoustic transmission matrix with an ultrasound array.

We implement the photoacoustic transmission matrix approach on a two-dimensional photoacoustic imaging system, using a 15 MHz linear ultrasound array. Using a black leaf skeleton as a complex absorbing structure, we demonstrate that the photoacoustic transmission matrix approach allows to reveal structural features that are invisible in conventional photoacoustic images, as well as to selectively control light focusing on absorbing targets, leading to a local enhancement of the photoacoustic signal.

Accurate measurement of guided modes in a plate using a bidirectional approach.

Measuring guided wave propagation in long bones is of interest to the medical community. When an inclination exists between the probe and the tested specimen surface, a bias is introduced on the guided mode wavenumbers. The aim of this study was to generalize the bidirectional axial transmission technique initially developed for the first arriving signal. Validation tests were performed on academic materials such a bone-mimicking plate covered with either a silicon or fat-mimicking layer. For any inclination, the wavenumbers measured with the probe parallel to the waveguide surface can be obtained by averaging the wavenumbers measured in two opposite directions.

Measurements of ultrasound velocity and attenuation in numerical anisotropic porous media compared to Biot's and multiple scattering models.

This article quantitatively investigates ultrasound propagation in numerical anisotropic porous media with finite-difference simulations in 3D. The propagation media consist of clusters of ellipsoidal scatterers randomly distributed in water, mimicking the anisotropic structure of cancellous bone. Velocities and attenuation coefficients of the ensemble-averaged transmitted wave (also known as the coherent wave) are measured in various configurations. As in real cancellous bone, one or two longitudinal modes emerge, depending on the micro-structure. The results are confronted with two standard theoretical approaches: Biot's theory, usually invoked in porous media, and the Independent Scattering Approximation (ISA), a classical first-order approach of multiple scattering theory. On the one hand, when only one longitudinal wave is observed, it is found that at porosities higher than 90% the ISA successfully predicts the attenuation coefficient (unlike Biot's theory), as well as the existence of negative dispersion. On the other hand, the ISA is not well suited to study two-wave propagation, unlike Biot's model, at least as far as wave speeds are concerned. No free fitting parameters were used for the application of Biot's theory. Finally we investigate the phase-shift between waves in the fluid and the solid structure, and compare them to Biot's predictions of in-phase and out-of-phase motions.