The aim of the open access Photoacoustics journal (PACS) is to publish original research and review contributions within the fast growing field of photoacoustics (optoacoustics) and thermoacoustics, which exploits optically and electromagnetically excited acoustical and thermal phenomena for visualization and characterization of a variety of materials and biological tissues, including living organisms. While some of the spectroscopic and photothermal applications have reached a mature state, many other research directions experience an explosive growth, in particular biomedical photoacoustics, which is currently considered the fastest growing bio-imaging modality. The wealth of investigated topics clearly indicates that this field has developed a broad range of tools for fundamental and applied research. The enormous recent progress is greatly supported by the advances in laser technologies, ultrasound detection approaches, development of inverse theory and fast reconstruction algorithms. This progress is also driven by a large number of unmet biological and medical needs that can be addressed by the unique contrast mechanisms available to photoacoustic (optoacoustic) methods. These include pre-clinical research and clinical imaging of vasculature, tissue and disease physiology, drug efficacy and treatment monitoring, optical anatomy and molecular imaging employing fluorochromes, chromophores and nanoparticles. Correspondingly applications span the entire range of biological and medical imaging including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neuroimaging, ophthalmology or imaging in immunology, diabetes and obesity, cell trafficking application and a multitude of other biological functions. The multi-disciplinarily nature of photoacoustics and thermoacoustics is also evinced by the growing contribution from chemistry and nanotechnology where a multitude of novel contrast materials and agents have been constantly developed, from nanoparticles and organic dyes, to targeted agents and genetically expressed markers.

《Photoacoustics》是一本由ELSEVIER GMBH出版商出版的专业医学期刊，该刊创刊于2013年，刊期4 issues/year，该刊已被国际权威数据库SCIE收录。在中科院最新升级版分区表中，该刊分区信息为大类学科：工程技术 2区，小类学科：仪器仪表 1区；工程：生物医学 2区；核医学 2区；在JCR（Journal Citation Reports）分区等级为Q1。该刊发文范围涵盖工程：生物医学等领域，旨在及时、准确、全面地报道国内外工程：生物医学工作者在该领域取得的最新研究成果、工作进展及学术动态、技术革新等，促进学术交流，鼓励学术创新。2021年影响因子为9.656，平均审稿速度22 Weeks。