Fast hybrid optomechanical scanning photoacoustic remote sensing microscopy for virtual histology

A rapid scanning microscopy method for hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) like images is sought after for interoperative diagnosis of solid tumor margins. The rapid observation and diagnosis of histological samples can greatly lower surgical risk and improve patient outcomes from solid tumor resection surgeries. Photoacoustic remote sensing (PARS) has recently been demonstrated to provide images of virtual H&E stains with excellent concordance with true H&E staining of formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded tissues. By using PARS with constant velocity and 1D galvanometer mirror scanning we acquire large virtual H&E images (10mm x 5mm) of prostate tissue in less than 3.5 minutes without staining, and over two orders of magnitude faster data acquisition than the current PARS imaging speed. (c) 2021 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement

Automated summary

A rapid scanning microscopy method for H&E-like images is necessary for intraoperative diagnosis of solid tumor margins. Photoacoustic remote sensing (PARS) has been proven to provide virtual H&E stained tissue images with excellent consistency to true H&E staining, and it has a data acquisition speed over two orders of magnitude faster than the current method.