A method for noninvasively imaging a scattering medium, said method comprising: focusing at least one light pulse into a predetermined area inside an object using a focusing assembly comprising a beam separation element and a correction lens, wherein: the beam separation element comprises an isosceles triangular prism with a first diagonal face and a rhomboidal prism with a second diagonal face adjoined along the first and second diagonal faces, the first and second diagonal faces separated by a gap containing an optical refractive -index-matching, low-acoustic-impedance, nonvolatile liquid; and the correction lens is placed on top of the beam separation element and compensates for aberrations introduced by the beam separation element; transforming absorbed optical energy into an acoustic wave, the acoustic wave emitted by the object in response to the light pulse; channeling the acoustic wave through the beam separation element that is either acoustically reflective and optically transparent or optically reflective and acoustically transparent; detecting the acoustic wave using at least one transducer positioned such that the transducer and the focusing assembly are coaxial and confocal; and creating an image of the predetermined area inside the object based on a signal generated by the transducer representative of the acoustic wave. focusing at least one light pulse into a predetermined area inside an object using a focusing assembly comprising a beam separation element and a correction lens, wherein: the beam separation element comprises an isosceles triangular prism with a first diagonal face and a rhomboidal prism with a second diagonal face adjoined along the first and second diagonal faces, the first and second diagonal faces separated by a gap containing an optical refractive -index-matching, low-acoustic-impedance, nonvolatile liquid; and the correction lens is placed on top of the beam separation element and compensates for aberrations introduced by the beam separation element; transforming absorbed optical energy into an acoustic wave, the acoustic wave emitted by the object in response to the light pulse; channeling the acoustic wave through the beam separation element that is either acoustically reflective and optically transparent or optically reflective and acoustically transparent; detecting the acoustic wave using at least one transducer positioned such that the transducer and the focusing assembly are coaxial and confocal; and creating an image of the predetermined area inside the object based on a signal generated by the transducer representative of the acoustic wave. the beam separation element comprises an isosceles triangular prism with a first diagonal face and a rhomboidal prism with a second diagonal face adjoined along the first and second diagonal faces, the first and second diagonal faces separated by a gap containing an optical refractive -index-matching, low-acoustic-impedance, nonvolatile liquid; and the correction lens is placed on top of the beam separation element and compensates for aberrations introduced by the beam separation element; transforming absorbed optical energy into an acoustic wave, the acoustic wave emitted by the object in response to the light pulse; channeling the acoustic wave through the beam separation element that is either acoustically reflective and optically transparent or optically reflective and acoustically transparent; detecting the acoustic wave using at least one transducer positioned such that the transducer and the focusing assembly are coaxial and confocal; and creating an image of the predetermined area inside the object based on a signal generated by the transducer representative of the acoustic wave.