Laser speckle contrast imaging to predict the effect of temporary spinal cord stimulation in postherpetic neuralgia patients: A prospective observational study

Temporary spinal cord stimulation(tSCS)can effectively reduce the pain and severity of postherpetic neuralgia(PHN).However,there are no effective and objective methods for predicting the effects of tSCS on PHN.Laser speckle contrast imaging(LSCI)is frequently used in neurology to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment.To assess the accuracy of LSCI in predicting the impact of tSCS on PHN,14 adult patients receiving tSCS treatments for spinal nerve-innervated(C6-T2)PHN participated in this observational study.Visual analog scale(VAS)assessments and LSCI bloodflow images of the-ngers were recorded after the tSCS procedure.The results showed that the VAS scores of all patients decreased signi-cantly.Moreover,the bloodflow index(BFI)values were signi-cantly higher than they were before the procedure.Increased bloodflow and pain alleviation were positively correlated.The-ndings indicated that spinal nerve PHN(C6-T2)was signi-cantly reduced by tSCS.Pain alleviation by tSCS was positively correlated with increased bloodflow in the hand.The effect of tSCS on PHN may thus be predicted using an independent and consistent indicator such as LSCI.

Transmissive multifocal laser speckle contrast imaging through thick tissue

Laser speckle contrast imaging(LSCI)is a powerful tool for monitoring blood flow changes in tissue or vessels in vivo,but its applications are limited by shallow penetration depth under reflective imaging configuration.The traditional LSCI setup has been used in transmissive imaging for depth extension up to 2l_(t)–3l_(t)(l_(t)is the transport mean free path),but the blood flow estimation is biased due to the depth uncertainty in large depth of field(DOF)images.In this study,we propose a transmissive multifocal LSCI for depth-resolved blood flow in thick tissue,further extending the transmissive LSCI for tissue thickness up to 12lt.The limited-DOF imaging system is applied to the multifocal acquisition,and the depth of the vessel is estimated using a robust visibility parameter V_(r)in the coherent domain.The accuracy and linearity of depth estimation are tested by Monte Carlo simulations.Based on the proposed method,the model of contrast analysis resolving the depth information is established and verified in a phantom experiment.We demonstrated its effectiveness in acquiring depth-resolved vessel structures and flow dynamics in in vivo imaging of chick embryos.

Laser speckle contrast imaging for monitoring of acutepancreatitis at ischemia-reperfusion injury of thepancreas in rats

The influence of ischemia-reperfusion(I/R)action on pancreatic blood flow(PBF)and the development of acute pancreatitis(AP)in laboratory rats is evaluated in vivo by using the laser speckle contrast imaging(LSCI).Additionally,the optical properties in norm and under condition of AP in rats were assessed using a modied integrating sphere spectrometer and inverse Monte Carlo(IMC)software.The results of the experimental study of microcirculation of the pancreas in 82 rats in the ischemic model are presented.The data obtained conrm the fact that local ischemia and changes in the blood°ow velocity of the main vessels cause and provoke acute pancreatitis.

A New Method for Evaluating Regional Cerebral Blood Flow Changes:Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging in a C57BL/6J Mouse Model of Photothrombotic Ischemia

The present study aimed to improve the processing of data acquired from laser speckle contrast imaging（LSCI） to provide a standardization method to explore changes in regional cerebral blood flow（r CBF） and to determine the correlations among r CBF, cerebral ischemic lesion volume and microvascular density over time in a focal ischemic region. C57BL/6J mice were subjected to focal photothrombotic（PT） ischemia. r CBF was measured using LSCI at different time points before and after PT ischemia through an intact skull. Standardized r CBF（Sr CBF）, defined as the ratio of r CBF measured in the ipsilateral region of interest（ROI） to that in the corresponding contralateral region, was calculated to evaluate potential changes. In addition, the volume of the ischemic lesion and the microvascular density were determined using Nissl staining and immunofluorescence, respectively. The relationships among the ischemic lesion volume, microvascular density and Sr CBF were analyzed over time. The results showed that the cortical r CBF measured using LSCI following PT ischemia in the C57BL/6J mice gradually increased. Changes in the cerebral ischemic lesion volume were negatively correlated with Sr CBF in the ischemic region. Changes in the microvascular density were similar to those observed in Sr CBF. Our findings indicate that LSCI is a practical technique for observing changes in murine cortical r CBF without skull opening and for analyzing the relationships among the ischemic lesion volume, microvascular density and Sr CBF following focal cerebral ischemia. Preliminary results also suggest that the use of LSCI to observe the formation of collateral circulation is feasible.

Improving sampling depth of laser speckle imaging by topical optical clearing:A theoretical and in vivo study

The effect of optical cleaning method combined with laser speckle imaging(LSI)was discussed to improve the detection depth of LSI due to high scattering characteristics of skin,which limit its clinical application.A double-layer skin tissue model embedded with a single blood vessel was established,and the Monte Carlo method was used to simulate photon propagation under the action of light-permeating agent.808 nm semiconductor and 632.8 nm He–Ne lasers were selected to study the e®ect of optical clearing agents(OCAs)on photon deposition in tissues.Results show that the photon energy deposition density in the epidermis increases with the amount of tissue°uid replaced by OCA.Compared with glucose solution,polyethylene glycol 400(PEG 400)and glycerol can considerably increase the average penetration depth of photons in the skin tissue,thereby raising the sampling depth of the LSI.After the action of glycerol,PEG 400,and glucose,the average photon penetration depth is increased by 51.78%,51.06%,and 21.51%for 808nm,68.93%,67.94%,and 26.67%for 632.8 nm lasers,respectively.In vivo experiment by dorsal skin chamber proves that glycerol can cause a substantial decrease in blood°ow rate,whereas PEG 400 can signicantly improve the capability of light penetration without a®ecting blood velocity,which exhibits considerable potential in the monitoring of blood°ow in skin tissues.

ASSESSMENT OF OPTICAL CLEARING INDUCED IMPROVEMENT OF LASER SPECKLE CONTRAST IMAGING

Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging(LSCI)plays an important role in studying blood flow,but suffers from limited penetration depth of light in turbid tissue.The strong scattering of tissue obviously reduces the image contrast which decreases the sensitivity to flow velocity.Some image processing or optical clearing methods have been proposed to lessen the deficiency,but quantitative assessment of improvement is seldom given.In this study,LSCI was applied to monitor the blood flow through a capillary embedded within various tissue phantoms at depths of 0.25,0.45,0.65,0.85 and 1.05 mm,and the flow velocity in capillary was controllable from 0 to 4mm/s.Here,glycerol,a common optical clearing agent,was mixed with Intralipid at different volume ratio to make the reduced scattering coefficient of tissue phantom decrease from 13.00 to 0.50 cm−1.The quantitative analysis demonstrates that the optical clearing method can obviously enhance the image contrast,imaging depth,and sensitivity to blood flow velocity.Comparing the Laser Speckle Contrast Analysis methods and the optical clearing method,we find that for typical turbid tissue,the sensitivity to velocity estimated by the Laser Speckle Temporal Contrast Analysis(LSTCA)is twice of that by the Laser Speckle Spatial Contrast Analysis(LSSCA);while the sensitivity to velocity estimated by using the two analysis methods has a 10-fold increase,respectively,if addition of glycerol makes the reduced scattering coefficient of tissue phantom decrease by 30%.Combining the LSTCA and the optical clearing method,the sensitivity to flow velocity will be further enhanced.

Measurement of the surface morphology of plasma facing components on the EAST tokamak by a laser speckle interferometry approach

The laser speckle interferometry approach provides the possibility of an in situ optical noncontacted measurement for the surface morphology of plasma facing components（PFCs）, and the reconstruction image of the PFC surface morphology is computed by a numerical model based on a phase unwrapping algorithm. A remote speckle interferometry measurement at a distance of three meters for real divertor tiles retired from EAST was carried out in the laboratory to simulate a real detection condition on EAST. The preliminary surface morphology of the divertor tiles was well reproduced by the reconstructed geometric image. The feasibility and reliability of this approach for the real-time measurement of PFCs have been demonstrated.

Hidden stage of intracranial hemorrhage in newborn rats studied with laser speckle contrast imaging and wavelets

Using the laser speckle contrast imaging and wavelet-based analyses,we investigate a latent("hidden")stage of the development of intracranial hemorrhages(ICHs)in newborn rats.We apply two measures based on the continuous wavelet-transform of blood flow velocity in the sagittal sinus,namely,the spectral energy in distinct frequency ranges and a multiscality degree characterizing complexity of experimental data.We show that the wavelet-based multifractal formalism reveals changes in the cerebrovascular blood flow at the development of ICH.

LASER SPECKLE MOVEMENT CAUSED BY SURFACE DEFORMATION AND LIGHT WAVELENGTH CHANGE

When a surface is illuminated by laser,the field of diffusing reflective light can be described by Fresnel-Kirchhoff integration in the region of Fresnel.If the correlation,before and after the change of intensity field,is analysed by statistical method,three governing equations for variations of intensity field and speckle movement formulas can be obtained.In these equations,the surface motion,deformation and wavelength change are all considered to cause the speckle movement.

Confocal laser speckle autocorrelation imaging of dynamic flow in microvasculature

Laser speckle imaging has been widely used for in-vivo visualization of blood perfusion in biological tissues.However,existing laser speckle imaging techniques suffer from limited quantification accuracy and spatial resolution.Here we re-port a novel design and implementation of a powerful laser speckle imaging platform to solve the two critical limitations.The core technique of our platform is a combination of line scan confocal microscopy with laser speckle autocorrelation imaging,which is termed Line Scan Laser Speckle Autocorrelation Imaging(LS-LSAI).The technical advantages of LS-LSAI include high spatial resolution(~4.4μm)for visualizing and quantifying blood flow in microvessels,as well as video-rate imaging speed for tracing dynamic flow.

IN VIVO MAPPING BRAIN MICROCIRCULATION BY LASER SPECKLE CONTRAST IMAGING:A MAGNETIC RESONANCE PERSPECTIVE OF THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The fundamental limitations of most vascular-based functional neuroimaging techniques are placed by the fact how fine the brain regulates the blood supply system.In vivo mapping of the cerebral microcirculation with high resolution and sensitivity hence becomes unprecedentedly compelling.This paper reviews the theoretical background of the laser speckle contrast imaging(LSCI)technique and attempts to present a complete framework stemming from a simple biophysical model.Through the sensitivity analysis,more insights into the tool optimization are attained for in vivo applications.Open questions of the technical aspects are discussed within this unified framework.Finally,it concludes with a brief perspective of future research in a way analogous to the magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)technique.Such exploration could catalyze their development and initiate a technological fusion for precise assessment of blood flow across various spatial scales.

Laser speckle contrast imaging based on uniting spatiotemporal Fourier transform

We propose a laser speckle contrast imaging method based on uniting spatiotemporal Fourier transform.First,the raw speckle images are entirely transformed to the spatiotemporal frequency domain with a three-dimensional(3D)fast Fourier transform.Second,the dynamic and static speckle components are extracted by applying 3D low-pass and high-pass filtering in the spatiotemporal frequency domain and inverse 3D Fourier transform.Third,we calculate the time-averaged modulation depth with the average of both components to map the two-dimensional blood flow distribution.The experiments demonstrate that the proposed method could effectively improve computational efficiency and imaging quality.

A review of surface roughness measurements based on laser speckle method

Surface roughness is commonly used to characterize material microstructure during processing,and accurate measurement of surface roughness is the premise and foundation of machining.Therefore,online non-destructive measurement of surface roughness based on the laser speckle method has become a hot issue in recent research.The improvements in surface roughness measurements based on the laser speckle method are systematically reviewed.Theory of speckle formation is introduced.The statistical properties of the speckle patterns including first-order statistical properties and second-order statistical properties are directly related to surface roughness.Surface roughness measurements based on the laser speckle method are roughly divided into the speckle contrast method,speckle correlation method,and fractal method.The three methods are described in detail,and an extensive comparison among all the methods is presented.The recent progresses and application of surface roughness measurements are reviewed.Finally,surface roughness measurements based on the laser speckle method are prospected and summarized.

Facile fabrication of microstructured surface using laser speckle for high-sensitivity capacitive pressure sensors

The design of a maskless exposure system for fabricating the microstructured surface based on the grainy light illumination generated by laser speckle is reported. Upon combining with soft lithography, we obtained microstructured polydimethylsiloxane electrodes with microstructure sizes of 20 μm and 40 μm and microstructure fill factors ranging from 10% to 90%. The feasibility of using this method in fabricating high-sensitivity capacitive pressure sensors was demonstrated. The sensor shows the highest sensitivity of 2.14 k Pa-1under 0–100 Pa pressures, the low detection limit of 4.9 Pa, and the excellent stability and durability of 10000 cycles. The method of employing laser speckle in fabricating microstructures with different morphologies is simple and robust, which is superior to other methods such as traditional photolithography.

Laser speckle contrast imaging compared with indocyanine green in renal perfusion of a porcine model

Background:When viewed under near-infrared light,indocyanine green(ICG)signal for kidney perfusion can be utilized in partial nephrectomy.Laser speckle contrast imaging(LSCI)uses coherent light to detect perfusion during real-time laparoscopic surgery.Materials and methods:Laser speckle contrast imaging or ActivSight,an imaging sensor adapter,was used during laparoscopy of an anesthetized porcine kidney model.ActivSight's"perfusion mode"and"quantification mode"displayed the blood flow as a heatmap and numerical signal intensity,respectively.Results:After the upper segmental renal artery was clamped,ICG was seen in the lower pole,and LSCI showed low unit(dark color)quantification and perfusion in the upper pole.Indocyanine green was retained in the lower pole after the upper segmental artery was unclamped,and LSCI perfusion was demonstrated in the entire kidney.Conclusions:Laser speckle contrast imaging is a dye-free,repeatable,real-time adjunct for renal parenchymal perfusion assessment applicable to minimally invasive renal surgery to complement the technology of ICG near-infrared fluorescence and advance digital surgery.

Sample entropy analysis of laser speckle fluctuations to suppress motion artifact on blood flow monitoring

Laser speckle imaging is a common technique to monitor blood flow.The fluctuations in speckle intensity can be related to the blood flow by calculating the speckle contrast,the ratio between the standard deviation of speckle fluctuations and the average intensity.However,this simple statistic calculation is easily affected by motion artifacts.In this study,we applied sample entropy analysis instead of calculating standard deviations of the speckle fluctuations.Similar to the traditional method,sample entropy-based speckle contrast increases linearly with flow rate but was shown to be more immune to sudden movements during an upper arm occlusion test.

Laser speckle imaging and wavelet analysis of cerebral blood flow associated with the opening of the blood–brain barrier by sound

The cerebral blood flow（CBF） alterations related to sound-induced opening of the blood–brain barrier（BBB） in adult mice are studied using laser speckle contrast imaging（LSCI） and wavelet analysis of vascular physiology.The results clearly show that the opening of the BBB is accompanied by the changes of venous but not microvessel circulation in the brain. The elevation of the BBB permeability is associated with the decrease of venous CBF and the increase of its complexity. These data suggest that the cerebral veins rather than microvessels are sensitive components of the CBF related to the opening BBB.

Histogram analysis of laser speckle contrast image for cerebral blood flow monitoring

Laser speckle contrast imaging （LSCI） is a powerful tool for blood flow mapping. In this paper, we described a simple algorithm based on histogram analysis of laser speckle contrast image to provide rapid differentiation between macro- and microcirculations. The algorithm was successfully verified by the study of blood flow in rat cortex under functional activation.

Hydrocarbon biodegradation and dynamic laser speckle for detecting chemotactic responses at low bacterial concentration

We report on the biodegradation of pure hydrocarbons and chemotaxis towards these compounds by an isolated chlorophenol degrader,Pseudomonas strain H.The biochemical and phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rDNA sequence identified Pseudomonas strain H as having 99.56% similarity with P.aeruginosa PA01.This strain was able to degrade n-hexadecane,1-undecene,1-nonene,1-decene,1-dodecene and kerosene.It grew in the presence of 1-octene,while this hydrocarbons is toxic to other hydrocarbons degraders.Pseudomonas strain H was also chemotactic towards n-hexadecane,kerosene,1-undecene and 1-dodecene.These results show that this Pseudomonas strain H is an attractive candidate for hydrocarbon-containing wastewater bioremediation in controlled environments.Since the classical standard techniques for detecting chemotaxis are not efficient at low bacterial concentrations,we demonstrate the use of the dynamic speckle laser method,which is simple and inexpensive,to confirm bacterial chemotaxis at low cell concentrations （less than 105 colony-forming unit per millilitre （CFU/mL）） when hydrocarbons are the attractants.

Use of the laser speckle flowgraphy in posterior fundus circulation research

Objective To review articles aiming to present an overview of the principles, progress, uses and limitations of laser speckle flowgraphy （LSFG） in posterior fundus circulation research. Data sources The data used in this review was obtained mainly from the studies reported in PubMed using the key terms ＂laser speckle＂, ＂ocular blood flowmetry＂ and ＂retinal imaging＂. Study selection Relevant literatures on studies of LSFG were selected. Results LSFG is a unique, noninvasive imaging instrument to quantitatively visualize posterior fundus circulation in vivo This review delineates the LSFG principles and development, demonstrates its extensive applicability for measurement of retina, choroid and optic nerve head circulation, compares it with other retinal imaging technologies and discusses unresolved issues. Conclusions LSFG is a noninvasive, two-dimensional objective diagnostic technique that has become a powerful method for the clinical and scientific assessment of posterior fundus circulation. Further studies may help to develop a more comprehensive evidence-based measurement and facilitate the correlation with other methods for chorioretinal circulation assessment.