PHOTOACOUSTIC IMAGING APPARATUS

摘要

The apparatus is provided with: an acoustic lens system (6), which focuses scattered waves (5) generated by irradiating acoustic waves (2) emitted from an acoustic wave source (1) on a subject; a photoacoustic medium section (8), which is disposed so that the scattered waves that have passed through the acoustic lens system (6) enter therein; a light source (19), which emits a beam of light in which multiple monochromatic lights of mutually differing directions of travel overlap and the light beam of which enters the photoacoustic medium section at an angle that is not perpendicular and is not parallel to the sound axis of the acoustic lens system; an image-forming lens system (16), which collects the diffracted light generated in the photoacoustic medium section from the multiple plane wave monochromatic lights; and an image-receiving unit (17), which detects the light collected by the image-forming lens system. The acoustic lens system (6) comprises a telecentric acoustic system (6A) that is at least telecentric on the image side and a sound collection acoustic system (6B) that is disposed on the image side. The distance between the two acoustic systems is equal to the sum of the focal length of the telecentric acoustic system and the focal length of the sound collection acoustic system. In the photoacoustic medium section, the light beam passes through the position of the focal point of the sound collection acoustic system.