Photoacoustic apparatus and method for controlling photoacoustic apparatus

A method for controlling a photoacoustic apparatus, comprising:

• irradiating an inside of a subject with pulsed laser light emitted by a laser light source to cause a photoacoustic wave to be emitted from tissue of the subject;
• receiving the photoacoustic wave emitted from the tissue of the subject and acquiring a photoacoustic signal;
• detecting a light amount of the pulsed laser light emitted by the laser light source;
• estimating an energy of the pulsed laser light by using first correlation data on the basis of the detected light amount of the pulsed laser light, the first correlation data representing a relationship between a light amount of the pulsed laser light emitted by the laser light source and an energy of the pulsed laser light;
• estimating a pulse width of the pulsed laser light by using second correlation data on the basis of the estimated energy of the pulsed laser light, the second correlation data representing a relationship between the energy of the pulsed laser light and the pulse width of the pulsed laser light;
• correcting the photoacoustic signal on the basis of both a first difference between the estimated energy of the pulsed laser light and a determined reference energy and a second difference between the estimated pulse width of the pulsed laser light and a determined reference pulse width;
• and
• generating a photoacoustic image from the corrected photoacoustic signal.

A photoacoustic apparatus comprising:

• a laser light source that emits pulsed laser light;
• a probe that irradiates an inside of a subject with the pulsed laser light to cause a photoacoustic wave to be emitted from tissue of the subject and that receives the photoacoustic wave emitted from the tissue of the subject;
• a light amount detecting circuit that detects a light amount of the pulsed laser light emitted by the laser light source;
• a correlation data memory that stores first correlation data and second correlation data, the first correlation data representing a relationship between the light amount detected by the light amount detecting circuit and an energy of the pulsed laser light, the second correlation data representing a relationship between the energy of the pulsed laser light and a pulse width of the pulsed laser light;
• and
• a processor,
• wherein the processor is configured to acquire a photoacoustic signal from the probe,
• estimate the energy of the pulsed laser light by using the first correlation data on the basis of the light amount detected by the light amount detecting circuit,
• estimate a pulse width of the pulsed laser light by using the second correlation data on the basis of the estimated energy of the pulsed laser light,
• correct the acquired photoacoustic signal on the basis of both a first difference between the estimated energy of the pulsed laser light and a determined reference energy and a second difference between the estimated pulse width of the pulsed laser light and a determined reference pulse width, and
• generate a photoacoustic image from the corrected photoacoustic signal.