Aging effect on microcirculation: A multiscale entropy approach on laser speckle contrast images
A Khalil1, A Humeau-Heurtier1, L Gascoin2
1LARIS-Laboratoire Angevin de Recherche en Ingénierie des Systèmes, University of Angers, 62 Avenue Notre-Dame du Lac, Angers 49000, France.
Medical Physics
|July 3, 2016
Summary
Aging reduces microvascular blood flow complexity. Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) with entropy analysis reveals age-related changes in forearm skin circulation, distinguishing younger from older individuals.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Biomedical Engineering
- Optical Imaging
Background:
- Microvascular function declines with age.
- Assessing microvascular changes is crucial for understanding aging.
- Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) offers 2D microvascular blood flow data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of aging on microcirculation using LSCI.
- To apply entropy-based complexity measures to LSCI time series for aging assessment.
- To analyze age-dependent alterations in microvascular complexity.
Main Methods:
- Studied forearm skin microvascular blood flow in 18 healthy subjects using LSCI.
- Divided subjects into younger (20-30 years) and older (50-68 years) groups.
- Applied three entropy-based complexity algorithms to LSCI time series data.
Main Results:
- Entropy-based complexity analysis differentiated younger from older age groups.
- Microvascular signal fluctuations showed significantly higher complexity in the younger group.
- Demonstrated age-dependent differences in microvascular complexity.
Conclusions:
- Entropy-based complexity algorithms applied to LSCI time series can estimate aging effects on microcirculation.
- This method provides a novel approach to quantify age-related changes in microvascular function.
