Photoacoustic imaging of prostate brachytherapy seeds in Ex vivo prostate

The localization of brachytherapy seeds in relation to the prostate is a key step in intraoperative treatment planning (ITP) for improving outcomes in prostate cancer patients treated with low dose rate prostate brachytherapy. Transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) has traditionally been the modality of choice to guide the prostate brachytherapy procedure due to its relatively low cost and apparent ease of use. However, TRUS is unable to visualize seeds well, precluding ITP and producing suboptimal results. While other modalities such as X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging have been investigated to localize seeds in relation to the prostate, photoacoustic imaging has become an emerging and promising modality to solve this challenge. Moreover, photoacoustic imaging may be more practical in the clinical setting compared to other methods since it adds little additional equipment to the ultrasound system already adopted in procedure today, reducing cost and simplifying engineering steps. In this paper, we demonstrate the latest efforts of localizing prostate brachytherapy seeds using photoacoustic imaging, including visualization of multiple seeds in actual prostate tissue. Although there are still several challenges to be met before photoacoustic imaging can be used in the operating room, we are pleased to present the current progress in this effort.