Towards a compact, high-speed optical linkbased 3D optoacoustic imager

We demonstrate the feasibility of a compact real-time 3D optoacoustic (OA) imager employing a novel low-cost software-defined ultrasound digital acquisition platform. It supports simultaneous signal acquisition from up to 192 ultrasound channels and a direct optical link (2x 100G Ethernet) to the host-PC for high-frame-rate image acquisitions. Real-time 3D imaging experiments with light-absorbing phantoms and the wrist of a healthy volunteer are reported. These results pave the way toward a new generation of compact, affordable, and flexible hand-held OA scanners.