Transurethral Photoacoustic and Ultrasonic Endoscopic Probe for Urinary System Diagnosis

Abstract

Bladder cancer is extremely aggressive and fatal if discovered too late, early diagnosis is essential for effective treatment. To find out if the well-known advantages of PAT may be used to address unmet urological concerns, such as the early diagnosis of bladder cancer, we created a tapered catheter-based, transurethral photoacoustic and ultrasonic endoscopic probe. We carried out a urinary system in vivo imaging using a rabbit, and obtained a high-resolution map of the 3D microvasculature distributed in the wall of the urinary system, which is believed to be the first to our best knowledge across all areas of medical imaging.