Volumetric photoacoustic endoscopy of internal organs: a phantom and in situ study

In this study, we further developed our photoacoustic endoscopic system to produce three-dimensional images of internal organs by performing pullback C-scans. Employing the side-scanning photoacoustic endoscopic probe discussed in the Optical Society of America's journal Optics Letters, we could acquire successive B-scan images by pulling back the probe with a motorized linear stage. We demonstrate the endoscopic system's volumetric imaging ability through imaging of a metal wire phantom and an in situ rat rectum