Abstract: Photoacoustic imaging and laser induced breakdown spectroscopy are two technologies that have been developed very rapidly in the imaging field in recent years, and have great potential in medical imaging. When the laser irradiates the tissue, both the photoacoustic signals and plasma are generated on the surface of the tissue. The photoacoustic signal carries the characteristic information of light absorption in the tissue, and the characteristic spectrum of the plasma can also trace the element information in the tissue. This paper summarizes the research background and imaging principle of the two technologies, and further demonstrates the possibility of a combination of the two technologies by analyzing the photoacoustic imaging and LIBS imaging modes, and introduces their applications in the fields of pathological section imaging and tissue metal element tracing. Finally, we discuss and prospect the bimodal imaging system combining the two technologies, which is expected to play an important role in the field of medical diagnosis and imaging.
Key words: photoacoustic imaging; laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy; pathological section; element tracer; bimodal imaging
（Acta Laser Biology Sinica, 2022, 31(5): 391-397）