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[Measuring choroid blood flow with a new confocal laser Doppler device]
M H Geiser1, C E Riva, U Diermann
1Institut de Recherche en Ophtalmologie, Sion.
Unlabelled:
A new instrument for the measurement of choroidal blood flow in the fovea is presented. It is based on the laser Doppler method and a confocal optical system with an indirect detection of the Doppler shifted light.
Method:
The intensity of the laser beam (785 nm) at the cornea is 90 microW. Measurements were obtained from a normal population of 21 subjects under resting conditions without dilating the pupil.
Results:
The reproducibility of the choroidal blood flow, based on 5 measurements of 10 s each in 5 randomly selected subjects, is 9%. The minimum detectable change for a statistical significance of p < or = 0.05, based on a population of 21 subjects and 10 s measurements, is 9%.
Conclusion:
This new compact instrument appears to be suitable for the investigation of the physiology and pharmacology of choroidal blood flow and the effect of age-related macular degeneration.