Adding fifth dimension to optoacoustic imaging: Volumetric time-resolved spectrally enriched tomography

Optoacoustics provides a unique set of capabilities for bioimaging, associated with the intrinsic combination of ultrasound- and light-related advantages, such as high spatial and temporal resolution as well as powerful spectrally enriched imaging contrast in biological tissues. We demonstrate here, for the first time, the acquisition, processing and visualization of five-dimensional optoacoustic data, thus offering unparallel imaging capacities among the current bioimaging modalities. The newly discovered performance is enabled by simultaneous volumetric detection and processing of multispectral data and is further showcased here by attaining time-resolved volumetric blood oxygenation maps in deep human vessels and real-time tracking of contrast agent distribution in a murine model in vivo.