Photoacoustic signal enhancement using a novel adaptive filtering algorithm

Photoacoustic (PA) signal experiences excessive background noise when generated using cost-effective, low-energy laser diodes. A denoising technique is essential in this case. Averaging is a common approach to increase the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of PA signals. This technique requires numbers of data acquisition in hundreds and thousands and hence, demands more hardware and time consuming at the same time. Here, an adaptive method based on Adaptive Line Enhancers (ALE) algorithm to improve the SNR of PA signals has been presented. Our results validate the feasibility of the usage of an adaptive method and also indicate excellent improvement in terms of increasing the SNR of the PA signals. Additionally, this proposed algorithm requires way less number of acquisitions as compared to the conventional averaging techniques that leads to faster PA image processing.