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Trackerless panoramic optoacoustic imaging: a first feasibility evaluation

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International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Optoacoustic imaging provides high spatial resolution and the possibility to image specific functional parameters in real-time, therefore positioning itself as a promising modality for various applications. However, despite these advantages, the applicability of real-time optoacoustic imaging is generally limited due to a relatively small field of view.

Methods

With this work, we aim at presenting a path towards panoramic optoacoustic tomographic imaging without requiring additional sensors or position trackers. We propose a two-step seamless stitching method for the compounding of multiple datasets acquired with a real-time 3D optoacoustic imaging system within a panoramic scan. The employed workflow is specifically tailored to the image properties and respective challenges.

Results

A comparison of the presented alignment on in-vivo data shows a mean error of \(628 \pm 512\,\upmu \hbox {m}\) compared to ground truth tracking data. The presented compounding scheme integrates the physical resolution of optoacoustic data and hence can provide improved contrast in comparison with other compounding approaches based on addition or averaging.

Conclusion

The proposed method can produce optoacoustic volumes with an enlarged field of view and improved quality compared to current methods in optoacoustic imaging. However, our study also shows challenges for panoramic scans. In this view, we discuss relevant properties, challenges, and opportunities and present an evaluation of the performance of the presented approach with different input data.

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Funding

This study did not receive funding from third party institutions.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Suhanyaa Nitkunanantharajah and Christoph Hennersperger have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Computer Aided Medical Procedures, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany

    Suhanyaa Nitkunanantharajah, Christoph Hennersperger & Nassir Navab

  2. Institute for Biological and Medical Imaging, Helmholtz Center Munich, Munich, Germany

    Xose Luis Dean-Ben & Daniel Razansky

  3. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA

    Nassir Navab

  4. Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Christoph Hennersperger

Authors
  1. Suhanyaa Nitkunanantharajah
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  2. Christoph Hennersperger
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  3. Xose Luis Dean-Ben
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  4. Daniel Razansky
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  5. Nassir Navab
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christoph Hennersperger.

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Conflicts of interest

The authors declare to have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. No animal experiments were performed in this study. An informed consent was obtained from all participants.

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Nitkunanantharajah, S., Hennersperger, C., Dean-Ben, X.L. et al. Trackerless panoramic optoacoustic imaging: a first feasibility evaluation. Int J CARS 13, 703–711 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11548-018-1723-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11548-018-1723-9

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