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Backward-mode multiwavelength photoacoustic scanner using a planar Fabry Perot polymer film ultrasound sensor for high resolution three-dimensional imaging of biological tissues

Here we introduce a completely new concept in photoacoustic imaging instrumentation that offers the prospect of overcoming the sensitivity and spatial resolution limitations of conventional (piezoelectric based) photoacoustic scanners for high resolution biomedical imaging applications. The concept is based on a highly novel ultrasound sensor that utilises a Fabry Perot (FP) polymer film interferometer that we invented. We describe the design, operating principles and performance of a 3D photoacoustic scanner based on this approach. It is the defining paper of the FP sensing concept applied to photoacoustic imaging and represents a step change in the development of photoacoustic imaging instrumentation.