Visualization of blood microcirculation parameters in human tissues by time-integrated dynamic speckles analysis

Statistical analysis of images of time-integrated non-stationary speckle patterns is a tool for diagnostics and imaging of in vivo dynamics of blood microcirculation in superficial layers of tissues and organs. The approach to monitoring blood microcirculation using the contrast analysis of time-averaged speckle images is known as the laser speckle contrast analysis (LASCA) technique. This paper presents a modified version of LASCA, based on the application of a localized light source in combination with the speckle contrast analysis of time-integrated dynamic speckle patterns. This method adds possibilities for the analysis of depth distributions of the blood microcirculation parameters. A theoretical background for the depth-resolved analysis of blood microcirculation parameters is considered here on the basis of the concept of effective optical path distributions for a multiply scattered probe light.