Non-Contact laser ultrasound (N-CLUS) system for medical imaging and elastography

MIT Lincoln Laboratory, the Medical Device Realization Center (MEDRC) at MIT, and the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) are collaboratively developing a novel optical system that acquires ultrasound images within the human body without physical contact to the patient. The system is termed, non-contact laser ultrasound (N-CLUS) and yields anatomical images in tissue and bone and can also measure elastographic properties, in-vivo, all from an operational standoff of a few inches to several meters as desired. N-CLUS employs a pulsed laser that converts optical energy into ultrasonic waves at the skin surface via photoacoustic mechanisms, while, a laser Doppler vibrometer measures reflected-emerging ultrasonic waves from tissue at depth at the skin surface. The key of the N-CLUS approach is driven by shallow optical absorptivity that creates an acoustic source that enables ultrasound propagation deeper into the tissue.We discuss the motivation of the non-contact laser concept, its development path involving signal generation, skin and eye safe laser measurement, and system design perspectives. Elastogrphic measurements are then demonstrated with determination of bone elastic moduli for beef rib within tissue. N-CLUS images from soft tissue specimens are also compared with commercial ultrasound, showing that the noncontact optical approach may have potential as a viable method in medical ultrasound.