Dual-view acoustic-resolution photoacoustic microscopy with enhanced resolution isotropy

Acoustic-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (AR-PAM) can provide penetration depths beyond the optical diffusion limit, but its lateral resolution is typically much worse than its axial resolution, resulting in a low-resolution isotropy. We herein present a dual-view AR-PAM (DV-AR-PAM) system that exploits two orthogonally arranged focused ultrasonic transducers. Taking advantage of their complementary acoustic detecting profiles, DV-AR-PAM allows the fusion of the dual-view signals, resulting in an enhancement in the resolution isotropy from 29% to 95% within one imaging plane, as demonstrated by simulation results on densely packed particles and experimental results on a single carbon fiber. The application of this method in vivo revealed distinct microvasculature structures in mouse skin that were previously indistinguishable with single-view detection, demonstrating the potential of DV-AR-PAM for vascular and neurological studies.