US 11,854,124 B2
Real-time photoacoustic imaging using a precise forward model and fast iterative inverse
Idan Steinberg, Palo Alto, CA (US); and Sanjiv Sam Gambhir, Portola Valley, CA (US)
Assigned to The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, Stanford, CA (US)
Filed by The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, Stanford, CA (US)
Filed on Nov. 2, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/517,401.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/109,452, filed on Nov. 4, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0139004 A1, May 5, 2022
Int. Cl. G06K 9/00 (2022.01); G06T 11/00 (2006.01); A61B 5/00 (2006.01)
CPC G06T 11/006 (2013.01) [A61B 5/0095 (2013.01); G06T 2210/52 (2013.01); G06T 2211/424 (2013.01); G06T 2211/428 (2013.01)] 7 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for photoacoustic imaging comprising:
measuring radiofrequency (RF) time samples from transducer elements wherein the transducer elements are arranged in a 3D shape;
reconstructing an estimated initial pressure image from the measured RF time samples and a pre-calculated forward model matrix wherein the pre-calculated forward model matrix takes into account the arrangement of the 3D shape;
wherein reconstructing comprises minimizing the difference between the pre-calculated forward model matrix applied to the estimated initial pressure image and the measured RF time samples by implementing a superiorized modified conjugate gradient least squares algorithm to minimize the total variation norm;
wherein the pre-calculated forward model matrix factors each of the transducer elements into sub-wavelength mathematical elements.