Photoacoustic inversion formulas using mixed data on finite time intervals*

We study the inverse source problem in photoacoustic tomography (PAT) for mixed data, which denote a weighted linear combination of the acoustic pressure and its normal derivative on an observation surface. We consider in particular the case where the data are only available on finite time intervals, which accounts for real-world usage of PAT where data are only feasible within a certain time interval. Extending our previous work, we derive explicit formulas up to a smoothing integral on convex domains with a smooth boundary, yielding exact reconstruction for circular or elliptical domains. We also present numerical reconstructions of our new exact inversion formulas on finite time intervals and compare them with the reconstructions of our previous formulas for unlimited time wave measurements.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the inverse source problem in photoacoustic tomography (PAT) for mixed data, which refers to a weighted linear combination of the acoustic pressure and its normal derivative on an observation surface. The paper focuses on the scenario where the data is only available within a finite time interval, mirroring real-world usage of PAT. By extending previous work, the authors derive explicit formulas with a smoothing integral on convex domains having a smooth boundary, enabling exact reconstruction for circular or elliptical domains. Numerical reconstructions are also presented and compared to previous formulas that were based on unlimited time wave measurements.