All-optically integrated photo-acoustic microscopy and optical coherence tomography based on a single Michelson detector.

An all-optically noncontact dual-mode imaging system using a single Michelson detector that simultaneously achieved photo-acoustic microscopy (PAM) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) is presented. The pulse laser-induced photo-acoustic signals and the back-scattered photons were alternately detected by a single Michelson detector. The spatial resolution and imaging capability of the dual-mode imaging system were testified by scattering phantoms. Furthermore, in vivo images of the mouse ear demonstrated that the PAM-OCT can provide complementary anatomical and functional information for imaging of biological tissues, which could be the best co-imaging strategy of PAM and OCT in biomedicine.