Patent ID: 8617148

Claim:
A tissue ablation device, comprising: at least one energy emitter ( 21 ) and at least one photoacoustic sensor ( 22 ) in a cooperative arrangement for applying a tissue ablation therapy to a tissue ( 60 ); wherein the at least one energy emitter ( 21 ) is operable to emit a tissue ablation beam (TA) into a target portion of the tissue ( 60 ) to form a lesion ( 61 ) therein; wherein the at least one energy emitter ( 21 ) is further operable to emit a photoexcitation beam (PE) into the target portion of the tissue ( 60 ) to excite a photoacoustic response from the tissue ( 60 ); and wherein the at least one photoacoustic sensor ( 22 ) is operable to sense the photoacoustic response of the tissue ( 60 ) to facilitate a generation of a photoacoustic image of the lesion ( 61 ) as formed in the tissue ( 60 ).