Simple correction factor for laser speckle imaging of flow dynamics

Opt Lett. 2014 Feb 1;39(3):678-81. doi: 10.1364/OL.39.000678.

Abstract

One of the major constraints facing laser speckle imaging for blood-flow measurement is reliable measurement of the correlation time (τ(C)) of the back-scattered light and, hence, the blood's speed in blood vessels. In this Letter, we present a new model expression for integrated speckle contrast, which accounts not only for temporal integration but spatial integration, too, due to the finite size of the pixel of the CCD camera; as a result, we find that a correction factor should be introduced to the measured speckle contrast to properly determine τ(C); otherwise, the measured blood's speed is overestimated. Experimental results support our theoretical model.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Hemodynamics*
  • Lasers*
  • Optical Imaging / methods*