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. 2011 Jun 1;2(6):1470-7.
doi: 10.1364/BOE.2.001470. Epub 2011 May 9.

Real-time full field laser Doppler imaging

Marcel Leutenegger, Erica Martin-Williams, Pascal Harbi, Tyler Thacher, Wassim Raffoul, Marc André, Antonio Lopez, Philippe Lasser, Theo Lasser

Real-time full field laser Doppler imaging

Marcel Leutenegger et al. Biomed Opt Express. .

Abstract

We present a full field laser Doppler imaging instrument, which enables real-time in vivo assessment of blood flow in dermal tissue and skin. This instrument monitors the blood perfusion in an area of about 50 cm(2) with 480 × 480 pixels per frame at a rate of 12-14 frames per second. Smaller frames can be monitored at much higher frame rates. We recorded the microcirculation in healthy skin before, during and after arterial occlusion. In initial clinical case studies, we imaged the microcirculation in burned skin and monitored the recovery of blood flow in a skin flap during reconstructive surgery indicating the high potential of LDI for clinical applications. Small animal imaging in mouse ears clearly revealed the network of blood vessels and the corresponding blood perfusion.

Keywords: (170.1650) Coherence imaging; (170.3340) Laser Doppler velocimetry; (170.3890) Medical optics instrumentation; (170.4580) Optical diagnostics for medicine.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Outline of the LDI instrument and the signal processing. The research instrument is controlled via a notebook whereas the embedded instrument integrates the user interface.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Color image of fingertips and color-coded blood perfusion map. (Media 1: captured video sequences showing the start of the arterial occlusion and the overshoot after release. The video frames were resized to 50% of the captured images to reduce the file size.)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Blood perfusion in the encircled regions on the fingers (14 fps; see Fig. 2). During the arterial occlusion, the blood perfusion drops and motion artifacts (spikes) become more clearly visible. The heartbeat is shown for a 10 s interval when the blood perfusion returned to normal.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Hot water burn on the skin of the abdominal wall of a patient on the third day. Outline of the burn wound (A) and deep burned areas showing low perfusion (B and C). Image area ~50 cm2.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Reperfusion of a free flap of ~40 cm2 area. The image center corresponds to the perforator location, where arterial blood flow was reinitiated at time point zero. Within ~30s the microcirculation in the central region was restored. A final check after 15 min showed that the entire flap was sufficiently well perfused for the final flap insertion. The least-perfused region in the bottom-center of the perfusion maps corresponds to the position of a staple holding the tissue in place.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Blood perfusion shows the vessel network in a mouse ear. The ear had been slightly fixed to suppress motion artifacts due to breathing that show up in the free region of the ear.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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