TY - GEN
T1 - Imaging microvascular flow characteristics using laser speckle contrast imaging
AU - Rege, Abhishek
AU - Murari, Kartikeya
AU - Li, Nan
AU - Thakor, Nitish V.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) has classically been used to image regional blood flow changes in animal models. In this paper, we demonstrate the use of LSCI for elucidating blood flow characteristics in individual microvessels with diameters as small as 24μm. We extracted profiles of speckle contrast values within individual vessels, both along their diameters and along their lengths and inferred that they could be attributed to the flow within the vessel. Profiles along the diameter of vessels revealed maxima at the center of vessels, consistent with fluid dynamics. These observed profiles could be fitted with parabolic curves with a mean coefficient of determination of 0.92. Similarly, analysis of speckle contrast values in the axial direction revealed profiles that progressively decreased in discreet quanta at branch points indicating blood flow bifurcations. Flow estimates obtained from speckle contrast values within branches of vessels obeyed the law of mass conservation with a mean error of only 3.5%. This allowed us to elucidate the percentage distribution of blood flow into each of the downstream branches. This ability of LSCI to resolve blood flow distribution in branching microvessel trees in a minimally invasive and dye free environment over a wide field of view promises to find application in both the neuroscience laboratory as well as intraoperative neurosurgery.
AB - Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) has classically been used to image regional blood flow changes in animal models. In this paper, we demonstrate the use of LSCI for elucidating blood flow characteristics in individual microvessels with diameters as small as 24μm. We extracted profiles of speckle contrast values within individual vessels, both along their diameters and along their lengths and inferred that they could be attributed to the flow within the vessel. Profiles along the diameter of vessels revealed maxima at the center of vessels, consistent with fluid dynamics. These observed profiles could be fitted with parabolic curves with a mean coefficient of determination of 0.92. Similarly, analysis of speckle contrast values in the axial direction revealed profiles that progressively decreased in discreet quanta at branch points indicating blood flow bifurcations. Flow estimates obtained from speckle contrast values within branches of vessels obeyed the law of mass conservation with a mean error of only 3.5%. This allowed us to elucidate the percentage distribution of blood flow into each of the downstream branches. This ability of LSCI to resolve blood flow distribution in branching microvessel trees in a minimally invasive and dye free environment over a wide field of view promises to find application in both the neuroscience laboratory as well as intraoperative neurosurgery.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78650824595&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=78650824595&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/IEMBS.2010.5627543
DO - 10.1109/IEMBS.2010.5627543
M3 - Conference contribution
C2 - 21096787
AN - SCOPUS:78650824595
SN - 9781424441235
T3 - 2010 Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC'10
SP - 1978
EP - 1981
BT - 2010 Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC'10
T2 - 2010 32nd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC'10
Y2 - 31 August 2010 through 4 September 2010
ER -