Compact and Low-Cost Acoustic-Resolution Photoacoustic Microscopy Based on Delta Configuration Actuator

Photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) provides high resolution and contrast imaging of microstructures such as blood vessels and various optical contrast agents. Acoustic-resolution PAM (AR-PAM) is capable of reaching sub-centimeter of penetration depth and is optimized for tissue samples and small animals. However, the state-of-art AR-PAMs are large in size and expensive in cost, which hinders their democratization. While previous studies have focused on replacing laser sources or data acquisition devices, bulky and costly high precision linear translation stages are used to actuate the sensor to build a 3D PAM image. Here, we focused on substituting these linear translation stages with delta configuration actuators adapted from a low-cost commercially available off-the-shelf 3D printer to miniaturize the size of the system and to drastically reduce the cost. We introduce an economical PAM system that integrates the unique sensor actuation hardware and the software approach of obtaining the high-resolution image through 3D reconstruction. The preliminary phantom study demonstrated the applicability of low-cost delta configuration actuators for AR-PAM imaging.