Analysis of Skin Structure and Blood Vessel Network Using Photoacoustic and High-frequency Ultrasound Microscopy

Abstract

While ultrasound imaging is a structural imaging method that images the structure of the measurement object by the difference of hardness, photoacoustic imaging is characterized by its functional imaging method that uses the characteristics of light to selectively image objects that absorb light, such as blood vessels. We have developed a photoacoustic and high-frequency ultrasound microscope HadatomoTM Z, which can simultaneously visualize skin structure and blood vessel network. We report the analysis results of measurements carried out by the developed system on several healthy volunteers, and the relationship between the skin structure and blood vessel images.