Characterizing intestinal obstruction using a photoacoustic ultrasound catheter (Conference Presentation)

Photoacoustic (PA) imaging has shown its capability of characterizing intestinal inflammation and fibrosis endoscopically. With the purpose of clinical translation, we developed an endoscopic probe integrating an intracardiac ultrasound array and an 800 µm side-firing fiber optic inside a medical balloon catheter. The catheter probe, when collapsed, fits to the instrument channel of a colonoscope and can inflate for acoustic coupling when positioned at the disease location inside intestine. The performance of the probe in assessing the disease conditions including inflammation, fibrosis and muscle hypertrophy is under investigation in rabbits in vivo. The imaging results are validated by histopathology.