Note: Flow mediated skin fluorescence--A novel technique for evaluation of cutaneous microcirculation

This note describes a newly developed technique for evaluation of cutaneous microcirculation. The technique called Flow Mediated Skin Fluorescence (FMSF) is based on monitoring of NADH fluorescence intensity emitted from the skin tissue cells of a forearm. The changes in fluorescence intensity as a function of time in response to blocking and releasing of blood flow in a forearm are used as a measure of oxygen transport with blood to the tissue, which directly correlates with the skin microcirculation status. Preliminary results collected for healthy volunteers and patients experiencing serious cardiovascular problems indicated a usefulness of FMSF technique for evaluation of health related perturbations in cutaneous microcirculation.