Optimization on artifacts in photoacoustic images based on spectrum analyses and signal extraction.

This article focuses on an optimized method to suppress artifacts caused by signal aliasing from multiple photoacoustic (PA) sources within the same imaging object, thereby enhancing PA tomographic image quality. The method utilizes time-frequency (TF) spectrum analysis and a dual-phase lock-in amplifier to extract signals from individual PA sources, reconstruct their images separately, and fuse them into an optimized overall image. Validation experiments conducted on two phantoms and two in vitro samples—comprising various PA source materials and heterogeneous media—demonstrated significant artifact reduction and improved image accuracy, as quantified by distribution relative error (DRE) and root mean square error (RMSE) metrics. The results suggest that this approach effectively addresses challenges in PA imaging of complex biological tissues containing multiple PA sources.