We have developed a technique, called Laser Speckle Contrast Analysis (LASCA), to monitor capillary blood flow. Like the earlier method 'single-exposure speckle photography' it uses the phenomenon of time-varying speckle, drawing on models that relate the statistics ofthe speckle pattern, especially the contrast, to the velocity ofthe scatterers. Temporal variations in the pattern blur the captured image, whether photographic or digital, reducing the contrast. LASCA is a fully-digitized, fullfield, non-invasive technique and operates in quasi-real-time: it grabs an image and then produces a 2-dimensional map of contrast variations representing differing velocities. Previously the data had been stretched, as a full range of contrasts could not be achieved. This problem has been addressed and we believe solved, thus giving us a full range of contrasts. In this paper we look at the effects ofchanging the exposure time. If it is varied it should be possible, according to the models used, to look at different ranges of velocity. Also we hope to show that by using different wavelengths together it is possible to distinguish between flow at different depths in the skin. We illustrate the validity of our technique with some of our results and then compare these to other methods ofmeasuring capillary blood flow.
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