Using optical fibers with different modes to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of diffuse correlation spectroscopy flow-oximeter measurements

The dual-wavelength diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) flow-oximeter is an emerging technique enabling simultaneous measurements of blood flow and blood oxygenation changes in deep tissues. High signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is crucial when applying DCS technologies in the study of human tissues where the detected signals are usually very weak. In this study, single-mode, few-mode, and multimode fibers are compared to explore the possibility of improving the SNR of DCS flow-oximeter measurements. Experiments on liquid phantom solutions and in vivo muscle tissues show only slight improvements in flow measurements when using the few-mode fiber compared with using the single-mode fiber. However, light intensities detected by the few-mode and multimode fibers are increased, leading to significant SNR improvements in detections of phantom optical property and tissue blood oxygenation. The outcomes from this study provide useful guidance for the selection of optical fibers to improve DCS flow-oximeter measurements.