Signal-to-noise analysis of biomedical photoacoustic measurements in time and frequency domains.

Sensitivity analysis of photoacoustic measurements is conducted using estimates of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) achieved under two different modes of optical excitation. The standard pulsed time-domain photoacoustic imaging is compared to the frequency-domain counterpart with a modulated optical source. The feasibility of high-SNR continuous wave depth-resolved photoacoustics with frequency-swept (chirp) modulation pattern has been demonstrated. Utilization of chirped modulation waveforms achieves dramatic SNR increase of the periodic signals and preserves axial resolution comparable to the time-domain method. Estimates of the signal-to-noise ratio were obtained using typical parameters of piezoelectric transducers and optical properties of tissue.