Medical imaging application of optical fiber photoacoustic transducer based on candle soot carbon nanoparticles

Optical fiber photoacoustic transducers are a type of medical imaging technology that combines the high resolution of ultrasound with the versatility and precision of fiber optics. This paper presents the development and application of an optical fiber photoacoustic transducer based on candle soot (CS) carbon nanoparticles for medical imaging. The transducer leverages the photoacoustic effect, which involves the conversion of light energy into ultrasound through thermal expansion and contraction. The study focuses on the preparation of the transducer using a CS/PDMS composite material, which is dip-coated onto the end of an optical fiber with a peak-to-peak acoustic pressure of ~4.5 MPa and a -6dB bandwidth of approximately ~23.8 MHz (198%, center frequency: ~12 MHz). The resulting device demonstrated high-resolution imaging capabilities for fish head part. This result demonstrates the potential of optical fiber photoacoustic transducers in medical imaging.