Purpose: High-contrast tissue characterization of thermal ablation has been desired to evaluate therapeutic outcomes accurately. This paper presents a photoacoustic (PA) characterization of thermal tissue ablation in the visible spectrum, in which higher light absorbance can produce spectral contrast starker than in the near-infrared range. Methods: Ex vivo experiments were performed to measure visible PA spectra (480-700 nm) from fresh porcine liver tissues that received a thermal dose in a range of cumulative equivalent minutes at 43°C (CEM43). The local hemoglobin lobe area between 510-600 nm and wholespectral area under the curve were evaluated to represent the transition of hemoglobin into methemoglobin (MetHb) in the target tissue. Results: The thermal process below an estimated therapeutic CEM43 threshold (80-340 minutes) presented a progressive elevation of the PA spectrum and an eventual loss of local hemoglobin peaks in the visible spectrum, closer to the MetHb spectrum. Interestingly, an excessive CEM43 produced a substantial drop in the PA spectrum. In the spectral analysis, the visible spectrum yielded 13.9-34.1 times higher PA sensitivity and 1.42 times higher contrast change than at a near-infrared wavelength. Conclusion This novel method of PA tissue characterization in the visible spectrum could be a potential modality to evaluate various thermal therapeutic modalities at high-contrast resolution.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility of ex vivo multispectral photoacoustic (PA) imaging in differentiating cholesterol versus neoplastic polyps, and benign versus malignant polyps, of the gallbladder. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 38 surgically confirmed gallbladder polyps (24 cholesterol polyps, 4 adenomas, and 10 adenocarcinomas) from 38 patients were prospectively included in this study. The surgical specimens were set on a gel pad immersed in a saline-filled container. The PA intensities of polyps were then measured, using two separate wavelength intervals (421–647 nm and 692–917 nm). Mann-Whitney U test was performed for the comparison of normalized PA intensities between the cholesterol and neoplastic polyps, and between the benign and malignant polyps. Kruskal-Wallis test was conducted for the comparison of normalized PA intensities among the cholesterol polyps, adenomas, and adenocarcinomas. RESULTS: A significant difference was observed in the normalized PA intensities between the cholesterol and neoplastic polyps at 459 nm (median, 1.00 vs. 0.73; p = 0.032). Comparing the benign and malignant polyps, there were significant differences in the normalized PA intensities at 765 nm (median, 0.67 vs. 0.78; p = 0.013), 787 nm (median, 0.65 vs. 0.77; p = 0.034), and 853 nm (median, 0.59 vs. 0.85; p = 0.028). The comparison of the normalized PA intensities among cholesterol polyps, adenomas, and adenocarcinomas demonstrated marginally significant differences at 765 nm (median, 0.67 vs. 0.66 vs. 0.78, respectively; p = 0.049). CONCLUSION: These preliminary results indicate that benign versus malignant gallbladder polyps might exhibit different spectral patterns on multispectral PA imaging.
Adenocarcinoma ; Adenoma ; Cholesterol ; Diagnosis, Differential* ; Gallbladder Neoplasms ; Gallbladder* ; Humans ; Photoacoustic Techniques ; Polyps* ; Prospective Studies