Enhancing finite element-based photoacoustic tomography using total variation minimization

A total variation minimization (TVM)-based finite element reconstruction algorithm for photoacoustic (PA) tomography is described in this paper. This algorithm is used to enhance the quality of reconstructed PA images with time-domain data. Simulations are conducted where different contrast levels between the target and the background, different noise levels, and different sizes and shapes of the target are studied in a 30 mm diameter circular heterogeneous background. These simulated results show that the quality of the reconstructed images can be improved significantly due to the decreased sensitivity to noise effect when the TVM is included in the reconstruction algorithm. The enhancement is further confirmed using experimental data obtained from several phantom experiments and an in vivo animal experiment.