IPASC: A community-driven consensus-based initiative towards standardisation in photoacoustic imaging

Photoacoustic Imaging (PAI) is a rapidly emerging imaging modality that is based on the conversion from light into ultrasound. One of the most promising applications of PAI is in diagnosis and longitudinal monitoring of solid tumours. By visualizing differences in the optical energy absorbed by endogenous chromophores, such as haemoglobin or melanin, PAI has made rapid advances over the past decade. In particular, PAI has been successfully demonstrated in early stage human trials in cancer, for delineating benign and malignant lesions as well as monitoring treatment. The promise of these early pilot studies has led to the development of several commercial clinical PAI instruments. Furthermore, qualitative image interpretation is increasingly being replaced by calculation of quantitative imaging biomarkers (IBs) as both research tools and as putative clinical decision-making tools. Considering the recently reported roadmaps for clinical translation of IBs, it is clear that acceleration of PAI biomarkers into clinical use requires parallel technical, biological and clinical validation, as well as assessment of cost-effectiveness. The International Photoacoustic Standardisation Consortium (IPASC) has been founded to address this unmet need. The overall objective of IPASC is to reach an international consensus on PAI standardization to improve the quality of preclinical studies and to accelerate efforts in clinical translation.