Deconvolution-based compensation of ultrasonic transducer impulse response in photoacoustic tomography

Photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) is a non-invasive biomedical imaging modality that integrates the high optical contrast of light-based imaging with the deep tissue penetration of ultrasound. A key determinant of image quality in PACT systems is the ultrasonic transducer array. However, inherent limitations—particularly its finite bandwidth—can lead to non-ideal temporal pulse responses, resulting in artifacts and image degradation. This study focuses on hollow artifacts commonly observed in vascular cross-sectional images, investigating their origins and proposing a compensation method based on deconvolution. Through simulation experiments using a circular transducer array to image a cylindrical acoustic source, we demonstrate that the loss of low-frequency components in photoacoustic signals—caused by the limited bandwidth of transducers—is the primary cause of hollow artifacts when using the filtered back projection reconstruction algorithm. To address this, we introduce a deconvolution-based compensation strategy that compensates for the deficient low-frequency content, significantly reducing hollow artifacts and enhancing image quality in PACT.