title: Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging for Monitoring Changes in Microvascular Blood Flow.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Microvascular blood flow is essential for healing and predicts surgical outcome. The aim of the current study was to investigate the relation between fluxes measured with the laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) technique and changes in absolute blood flow. In addition, we studied the reproducibility of the LSCI technique when assessing the intra-abdominal microcirculation of the pig.
  
  
  METHODS
  During trial 1, a fish gill arch was mechanically perfused with heparinized fish blood under controlled stepwise-altered flow rates alongside mechanically induced movement artefacts. The microcirculation of the fish gill was simultaneously assessed with the LSCI technique. In trial 2, microcirculation was measured in the stomach, liver, and small intestine of 10 pigs by two observers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A linear correlation was observed between flux and volumetric flow. During conditions of no volumetric flow, the high recording speed with the LSCI technique registered the movement artefacts as flow signals. The LSCI measurements showed good correlation and agreement between the two observers when assessing microcirculation in the stomach, liver, and small intestine (r2 = 0.857, 0.956, and 0.946; coefficients of variation = 6.0, 3.2, and 6.4%, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Due to the non-contact and real-time assessment over large areas, LSCI is a promising technique for the intraoperative assessment of intra-abdominal microcirculation. A linear correlation between flux and volumetric flow was found, in accordance with previous experimental studies. However, movement artefacts affect flux measurements, and the choice of the sampling speed must be made with care, depending on the given setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Gastroenterology C, Rigshospitalet, University Hospital of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Rikard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ambrus
authors.forename: Rune B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Strandby
authors.forename: Lars Bo
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Svendsen
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Achiam
authors.forename: John F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Steffensen
authors.forename: Morten Bo
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Søndergaard Svendsen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D003287:Contrast Media; D005260:Female; D048389:Gadus morhua; D017078:Laser-Doppler Flowmetry; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000502:physiology*; D055806:Microvessels / Q000502:physiology; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media