Back-projection method with fast time-delay correction for photoacoustic tomography reconstruction based on a focused sound field model

Photoacoustic tomography is a rapidly developing imaging technology, which can provide structural and functional information of biological tissues. It can integrate the advantage of high optical contrast from optical imaging with those from high penetration depth from ultrasound imaging. However, the existing back-projection algorithm in photoacoustic tomography equates the ultrasonic transducer scanning around the target to a point detector, which leads to a notable tangential blur in the eccentric imaging regions, and thus seriously degrading the image quality. In this paper, we propose a novel photoacoustic tomography reconstruction algorithm, which employs a focused sound field equivalent model to overcome the sound field distortion caused by the transducer'finite aperture effect and can quickly and effectively restore the elongated tangential resolution in the eccentric imaging regions. Simulation results show that for the target with a diameter of 5 mm and a distance of 6 mm from the rotation center, the tangential resolution is improved by at least twice. Experimental results show that this method can effectively restore the image tangential blur in the off-center regions, where the tiny structures of complex targets can be detected. This new method provides a valuable alternative to the conventional back-projection method and plays an important guiding role in the design of photoacoustic tomography systems based on circle/sphere scanning.