eprintid: 1481173 rev_number: 34 eprint_status: archive userid: 608 dir: disk0/01/48/11/73 datestamp: 2016-04-17 13:48:12 lastmod: 2021-10-04 00:58:24 status_changed: 2016-08-02 14:39:25 type: article metadata_visibility: show creators_name: Allen, TJ creators_name: Beard, PC title: High power visible light emitting diodes as pulsed excitation sources for biomedical photoacoustics ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B04 divisions: C05 divisions: F42 keywords: (110.5120) Photoacoustic imaging, (170.3880) Medical and biological imaging note: Published by The Optical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI. abstract: The use of visible light emitting diodes (LEDs) as an alternative to Q-switched lasers conventionally used as photoacoustic excitation sources has been explored. In common with laser diodes, LEDs offer the advantages of compact size, low cost and high efficiency. However, laser diodes suitable for pulsed photoacoustic generation are typically available only at wavelengths greater than 750nm. By contrast, LEDs are readily available at visible wavelengths below 650nm where haemoglobin absorption is significantly higher, offering the prospect of increased SNR for superficial vascular imaging applications. To demonstrate feasibility, a range of low cost commercially available LEDs operating in the 420-620nm spectral range were used to generate photoacoustic signals in physiologically realistic vascular phantoms. Overdriving with 200ns pulses and operating at a low duty cycle enabled pulse energies up to 10µJ to be obtained with a 620nm LED. By operating at a high pulse repetition frequency (PRF) in order to rapidly signal average over many acquisitions, this pulse energy was sufficient to generate detectable signals in a blood filled tube immersed in an Intralipid suspension (µs' = 1mm(-1)) at a depth of 15mm using widefield illumination. In addition, a compact four-wavelength LED (460nm, 530nm, 590nm, 620nm) in conjunction with a coded excitation scheme was used to illustrate rapid multiwavelength signal acquisition for spectroscopic applications. This study demonstrates that LEDs could find application as inexpensive and compact multiwavelength photoacoustic excitation sources for imaging superficial vascular anatomy. Published by The Optical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI. date: 2016-04-01 date_type: published official_url: http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/BOE.7.001260 oa_status: green full_text_type: pub pmcid: PMC4929638 language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green article_type_text: Journal Article verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1120322 doi: 10.1364/BOE.7.001260 pii: 256512 language_elements: eng lyricists_name: Allen, Thomas lyricists_name: Beard, Paul lyricists_id: TJALL97 lyricists_id: PCBEA63 actors_name: Barczynska, Patrycja actors_id: PBARC91 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: Biomedical Optics Express volume: 7 number: 4 pagerange: 1260-1270 event_location: United States issn: 2156-7085 citation: Allen, TJ; Beard, PC; (2016) High power visible light emitting diodes as pulsed excitation sources for biomedical photoacoustics. Biomedical Optics Express , 7 (4) pp. 1260-1270. 10.1364/BOE.7.001260 <https://doi.org/10.1364/BOE.7.001260>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1481173/1/High%20power%20visible%20light%20emitting%20diodes%20as%20pulsed%20excitation%20sources%20for%20biomedical%20photoacoustics.pdf