Tutorial on laser speckle rheology: technology, applications, and opportunities

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Optics
• Biophysics
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Disease onset often involves abnormal tissue mechanics at the cell-microenvironment interface.
• Understanding tissue micromechanics is crucial for disease etiology, diagnosis, and targeted therapies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the potential of optical imaging for assessing micromechanical properties.
• To highlight laser speckle rheology (LSR) as a key technology for rapid, noncontact mechanical property quantification.

Main Methods:

• Laser speckle rheology (LSR) measures shear viscoelastic modulus from time-variant speckle intensity fluctuations.
• LSR technology is adaptable into various configurations, including bench-top, endoscopic, portable, and microscopic systems.

Main Results:

• LSR enables rapid, noncontact measurement of tissue mechanical properties.
• Demonstrated applications of LSR in cardiovascular disease, coagulation disorders, and tumor malignancies.

Conclusions:

• Technological advancements position LSR for broad applications in basic research and clinical medicine.
• LSR is a promising tool for disease diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring.