This study aims at evaluating hybrid multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT)/ultrasound for imaging of thyroid disorders, including Graves’ disease and thyroid nodules. The functional biomarkers and tissue parameters deoxygenated (HbR), oxygenated (HbO2) and total hemoglobin (HbT), saturation of hemoglobin (sO2), fat and water content were analyzed in thyroid lobes affected by Graves’ disease (n = 6), thyroid lobes with healthy thyroid tissue (n = 8), benign (n = 13) and malignant (n = 3) thyroid nodules. In Graves’ disease, significantly higher values for HbR (3.18 ± 0.52 vs. 2.13 ± 0.62; P = 0.0055) and HbT (8.34 ± 0.88 vs. 6.59 ± 1.16; P = 0.0084) and significantly lower values for fat (0.64 ± 0.37 vs. 1.69 ± 1.25; P = 0.0293) were found compared to healthy controls. Malignant thyroid nodules showed significantly lower sO2 (55.4% ± 2.6% vs. 60.8% ± 7.2%; P = 0.0393) and lower fat values (0.62 ± 0.19 vs. 1.46 ± 0.87; P = 0.1295) than benign nodules. This pilot study shows the applicability and the potential of hybrid MSOT/ultrasound to semi-quantitatively provide tissue characterization and functional parameters in thyroid disorders for improved non-invasive diagnostics of thyroid diseases.
