University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Multi-parametric photoacoustic/ultrasound localization (PAUL) imaging and its applications

Zhao, Shensheng

This item's files can only be accessed by the System Administrators group.

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132766

Description

Title
Multi-parametric photoacoustic/ultrasound localization (PAUL) imaging and its applications
Author(s)
Zhao, Shensheng
Issue Date
2025-11-26
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Chen, Yun-Sheng
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Chen, Yun-Sheng
Committee Member(s)
  • Zhao, Yang
  • Anastasio, Mark A
  • Gruev, Viktor
Department of Study
Electrical & Computer Eng
Discipline
Electrical & Computer Engr
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Super-resolution
  • ultrasound imaging
  • photoacoustic imaging
  • functional imaging
  • deep learning
Abstract
Noninvasive biomedical imaging technologies play a critical role in medical diagnostics, yet each modality has inherent limitations in spatial resolution, functional sensitivity, or molecular specificity. Hybrid imaging approaches have been developed to address these limitations, providing complementary structural and functional information for comprehensive tissue characterization. This thesis introduces a dual-modal photoacoustic and ultrasound localization (PAUL) imaging platform that integrates super-resolution ultrasound localization (UL) with photoacoustic (PA) imaging to enable multiparametric sensing of anatomical, structural, functional, and molecular features. We developed multiple PAUL imaging strategies to enhance its capabilities, including fast imaging, 3D imaging with a large field of view, on-demand contrast generation, and fully label-free imaging without exogenous agents. The multiparametric sensing capability makes PAUL imaging well-suited to capture complex biological disease processes and guide therapeutic interventions. We further demonstrated this capability through several applications: noninvasive monitoring of focused ultrasound–induced blood–brain barrier disruption, longitudinal assessment of renal microvascular dysfunction in acute kidney injury, and image-guided mechanochemical cancer therapy. Overall, this work establishes PAUL imaging as a high-resolution, versatile, and functional imaging platform for preclinical studies, offering new opportunities to probe vascular dynamics, tissue physiology, and therapeutic responses in vivo.
Graduation Semester
2025-12
Type of Resource
Thesis
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132766
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2025 Shensheng Zhao

Owning Collections

Graduate Dissertations and Theses at Illinois PRIMARY
Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois