Optoacoustic characterization of prostate cancer in an in vivo transgenic murine model

• Published in: Journal of biomedical optics 2014-05, Vol.19 (5), p.056008-056008
• Main Authors: Patterson, Michelle P, Riley, Christopher B, Kolios, Michael C, Whelan, William M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amplitudes; Animals; Cancer; Control equipment; Imaging; Male; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Noise levels; Photoacoustic Techniques - methods; Prostate; Prostatic Neoplasms - pathology; Radio frequencies; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; Signal-To-Noise Ratio; Spectrum Analysis
• ISSN: 1083-3668; 1560-2281
• DOI: 10.1117/1.JBO.19.5.056008

Optoacoustic (OA) imaging was employed to distinguish normal from neoplastic tissues in a transgenic murine model of prostate cancer. OA images of five tumor-bearing mice and five age-matched controls across a 14  mm×14  mm region of interest (ROI) on the lower abdomen were acquired using a reverse-mode OA imaging system (Seno Medical Instruments Inc., San Antonio, Texas). Neoplastic prostate tissue was identified based on the OA signal amplitude in combination with spectral analysis of the OA radio frequency (RF) data. Integration of the signal amplitude images was performed to construct two-dimensional images of the ROI. The prostate tumors generated higher amplitude signals than those of the surrounding tissues, with contrast ratios ranging from 31 to 36 dB. The RF spectrum analysis showed significant differences between the tumor and the control mice. The midband fit was higher by 5 dB (62%), the intercept higher by 4 dB (57%) and the spectral slope higher by 0.4  dB/MHz (50%) for neoplastic prostate tissue compared to normal tissues in the control mice. The results demonstrate that OA offers high contrast imaging of prostate cancer in vivo.