ABSTRACT
This chapter will address the most recent developments in the field of laser optoacoustic (OA) tomography. This imaging modality is based on the thermoelastic effect: absorption of pulsed laser radiation by the biological tissue leads to its heating and subsequent thermal expansion that in turn results in the excitation of the acoustic (or OA) pulse. The waveform of the OA signal contains information on the distribution of laser-induced heat release that in turn depends on the distribution of optical absorption coefficient in tissue. Therefore, detection of the OA signals by an array of transducers allows reconstruction of the distribution of heat release and deduction of information on the distribution of absorbing inclusions in tissue.
