Image enhancement using active contour filtering methods for a custom-developed real-time photoacoustic tomography system to accurately delineate a target

Researchers are currently investigating photoacoustic tomography data incorporated into medical diagnoses for its ability to identify abnormalities in patients. Accurately delineating photoacoustic targets is necessary to properly use unique tomographic information. An image enhancement method was performed on photoacoustic images obtained from a custom-developed linear array photoacoustic tomography system. To test the fully functional system along with the enhancement algorithm phantom experiments were carried out to imitate a biological specimen. The universal back projection method was used as the image reconstruction algorithm. The image enhancement algorithm used the active contour models, such as the Chan-Vese and edge-based methods, to segment the targets. The two methods were then analysed based on their accuracy in defining the object, along with their processing speeds and iterations of the algorithms using the software.