Photoacoustic tomography has great potential; however, limited detector coverage is a key issue that results in artifacts. While analytical and simulation studies regarding this issue are extensive, experimental setups are lacking. A ring-shaped detector array was rotated and translated to achieve near-full view angle coverage. Following system optimization, phantom imaging of star shape, synthetic breast tumor specimen, and vascular phantoms was performed. Approximately 4000 detectors were needed for high quality images, and phantoms were clearly imaged with minimal artifacts. A near full-view spherical system has been developed, allowing for future work validating experimentally the theoretical advantages of using a full-view setup.
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