Fiber optic broadband ultrasonic probe

An ultrasonic probe was developed by using, in conjunction, opto-acoustic and acousto-optic devices based on fiber optic technology. The intrinsic high frequency and wide bandwidth associated both to the opto-acoustic source and to the interferometric acousto-optic element could open a way towards a ldquovirtual biopsyrdquo of the biological tissue by means of appropriate signal processing techniques to investigate frequency-selective responses in tissue. Extreme miniaturization, which can be obtained by fiber optic technology, permits the positioning of the probe in the close proximity of the focal lesion, avoiding the reduction of the penetration depth imposed by the strong attenuation at high frequency.