Speaker: Fábio A. Schaberle (CLL, Portugal)

Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) is based on the absorption of light by endogenous or exogenous molecules – organic or inorganic – and the subsequent generation of acoustic waves resulting of the rapid deposition of heat upon deactivation of the excited electronic states of these molecules. In practice, PAT is used to imaging small animals, e.g. mice, using pulsed laser light with wavelengths capable of penetrating biological tissues (680nm-2300nm) and activating specific chromophores. The great advantages of PAT are the molecular contrast provided by the selective absorption of light and the resolution (microns) obtained by the high frequencies of acoustic waves.