System and method for detecting anomalous channel in an optoacoustic imaging system

摘要

Described is system and method for detecting anomalous channels in an optoacoustic imaging system in which transducer elements are acoustically coupled with a portion of the surface of a volume of tissue and a pulse of light is directed onto an area of the surface, the pulse imparting less than a predetermined fluence upon the surface. A sinogram is recorded by sampling transducers acoustically coupled with the surface of the volume for a predetermined period of time after the pulse of light to record data reflecting the optoacoustic response of the volume of tissue to the pulse, the samples for each transducer corresponding to a channel. The sinogram is analyzed for the presence of one or more anomalous channels, and the sinogram samples corresponding with the anomalous channels are modified to reduce the affect of the anomalous channel on an image reconstructed from the sinogram.

主权项

1. A method comprising the steps of:
acoustically coupling a plurality of transducers with a portion of a surface of a volume of tissue; directing a pulse of light onto an area of the surface of the volume of tissue, the pulse imparting less than a predetermined fluence upon the surface; recording a sinogram by sampling the plurality of transducers acoustically coupled with the surface of the volume for a predetermined period of time after the pulse of light to record data reflecting the optoacoustic response of the volume of tissue to the pulse, the samples for each transducer corresponding to a channel; analyzing the sinogram for the presence of one or more anomalous channels by:
for each channel, determining a channel average for a first group of samples;determining an average of the channel averages; andidentifying as anomalous each channel having a channel average that is an outlier when compared with the average of the channel averages; modifying the sinogram samples corresponding with the one or more anomalous channels to reduce the effect of the anomalous channel on an image reconstructed from the sinogram.