Fig. 5: In vivo photoacoustic imaging capability of TUTs.

a Photoacoustic image of subcutaneous microvasculature networks in a mouse ear captured by the PIN-PMN-PT-based TUT. The white arrows indicate the bifurcations of venules and arterioles. b Locally enlarged image of the area positioned by the dashed line box in (a). c Normalized PA intensity with respect to lateral distance at the position marked by the white dash line in (b). The colored arrows in (b and c) indicate the vessels and corresponding PA intensity profiles, respectively. The vessel diameter was calculated by the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the PA intensity profile. d Photoacoustic images captured by the LN-based TUT. e Locally enlarged image of the area positioned by the dashed line box in (d). f PA intensity at the position marked by the white dash line in (e). The red arrows highlight the vessels that are resolved by both PIN-PMN-PT- and LN-based TUTs, while the blue arrows highlight the vessels that cannot be clearly resolved by the LN-based TUT.