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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/A01985/01
Title: INVESTIGATION OF PHOTOACOUSTIC ULTRASOUND IMAGING FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS
Principal Investigator: Beard, Professor PC
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Medical Physics and Biomedical Eng
Organisation: UCL
Scheme: Advanced Fellowship (Pre-FEC)
Starts: 01 April 2000 Ends: 31 March 2005 Value (£): 241,933
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Lasers & Optics
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Healthcare No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
The purpose of this research is to investigate a promising new method of non-invasive medical imaging based upon the use of laser-generated acoustic waves to visualise the internal structure of soft tissues. The technique, which exploits the strong optical contrast of tissues and the high spatial resolution available to ultrasound, offers the prospect of real-time 3D imaging with superior spatial resolution and contrast to existing radiological methods. Among the important clinical applications are the non-invasive detection and diagnosis of breast and skin cancer and the assessment of superficial blood vessels such as the carotid artery or the vasculature associated with dermal and sub-dermal vascular lesions. The proposed project will involve theoretical and experimental investigations of photoacoustic mechanisms, development of a novel 2D optical ultrasound phased array, development of image reconstruction algorithms and evaluation of the technique using tissue mimicking phantoms. A substantial component of the project will be devoted to the construction and clinical testing of a practical photoacoustic imaging instrument. In addition to the specific contribution to biomedical photoacoustic imaging and its potential health care benefits, this work is expected to lead to a broader contribution to photoacoustic science, ultrasound array technology and optical sensing with applications in industrial, scientific and medical fields.
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