Shape-adapting thermoacoustic imaging system based on flexible multi-element transducer

Microwave-induced thermoacoustic (TA) imaging is efficient in detecting the anomaly that has difference in microwave absorption with normal tissue, particularly for breast tumor and foreign objects. However, the traditional circular-scanning TA system needs a large operating space for rotation of the transducers and bulk of coupling medium. The linear-scanning system can overcome these problems partially but usually lose some information and cause image distortion. In order to overcome these limitations, a shape-adapting TA imaging system based on flexible multi-element transducer is proposed in this letter. The experimental results show that this system provides obvious advantages, including shape adaptation, information integrity, and efficient transmission, which make it a preferred choice for biomedical applications, especially for breast tumor detection.