Solid-state dye laser as a new light source for photoacoustic imaging

We developed a photoacoustic imaging (PAI) system based on a solid-state dye laser. Using the system, PA images of a tube filled with methylene blue (MB) below 3.9 cm chicken tissue were successfully obtained. After injecting MB into a rat, MB dyed sentinel lymph node (SLN) under chicken tissue was well described. In addition, it was confirmed the change in PA amplitude of the SLN over time in the PA images. Additionally, lymph vessels, SLN, and blood vessels were also successfully identified in multispectral PA images. These results demonstrate the clinical potential of the system in SLN detection.