Posterior photoacoustic/ultrasound imaging of the periodontal pocket with a compact intraoral transducer

Periodontitis is a public issue and imaging periodontal pocket is important to evaluate periodontitis. Regular linear transducers have limitations in imaging the posterior teeth due to their geometry restrictions. Here we characterized a transducer that can image the posterior teeth including assessment of periodontal pockets via a combination of photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging. Unlike conventional transducer design, this device has a toothbrush-shaped form factor with a side-view transducer to image molars (total size: 1 ×1.9 cm). A laser diode was integrated as the light source to reduce the cost and size and facilitates clinical transition. The in vivo imaging of a molar of a periodontal patient demonstrated that the transducer could image in the posterior area of gum in vivo; the value determined by imaging was within 7 % of the value measured clinically.