Optical-resolution photoacoustic tomography through highly scattering layers using the optical memory effect (Conference Presentation)

A new photoacoustic (PA) imaging method called “photoacoustic memory imaging” (PAMI) is presented. Unlike optical-resolution PA microscopy which requires ballistic light, PAMI is capable of imaging through strongly scattering layers. At the same time, unlike PA tomography, PAMI overcomes the acoustic diffraction limit to achieve optical resolution. In addition, unlike optical wavefront shaping based methods, PAMI requires no prior calibration of the scattering material. Instead, it exploits known correlations of light transmitted through scattering layers. In this work, we introduce the concept of PAMI, demonstrate its basic feasibility and characteristics in a range of experiments of increasing complexity, culminating in super-resolution tomographic PA imaging in simple phantoms.