We have determined in vivo optical scattering properties of normal human skin in 1734 subjects, mostly with fair skin type, within the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study. The measurements were performed with a noninvasive system, integrating spatially resolved diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and laser Doppler flowmetry. Data were analyzed with an inverse Monte Carlo algorithm, accounting for both scattering, geometrical, and absorbing properties of the tissue. The reduced scattering coefficient was found to decrease from 3.16 ± 0.72 to 1.13 ± 0.27 mm −1 (mean ± SD) in the 475-to 850-nm wavelength range. There was a negative correlation between the reduced scattering coefficient and age, and a significant difference between men and women in the reduced scattering coefficient as well as in the fraction of small scattering particles. This large study on tissue scattering with mean values and normal variation can serve as a reference when designing diagnostic techniques or when evaluating the effect of therapeutic optical systems.

Driver sleepiness is a contributing factor in many road fatalities. A long-standing goal in driver state research has therefore been to develop a robust sleepiness detection system. It has been suggested that various heart rate variability (HRV) metrics can be used for driver sleepiness classification. However, since heart rate is modulated not only by sleepiness but also by several other time-varying intra-individual factors such as posture, distress, boredom and relaxation, it is relevant to highlight not only the possibilities but also the difficulties involved in HRV-based driver sleepiness classification. This paper investigates the reliability of HRV as a standalone feature for driver sleepiness detection in a realistic setting. Data from three real-road driving studies were used, including 86 drivers in both alert and sleep-deprived conditions. Subjective ratings based on the Karolinska sleepiness scale (KSS) were used as ground truth when training four binary classifiers (k-nearest neighbours, support vector machine, AdaBoost, and random forest). The best performance was achieved with the random forest classifier with an accuracy of 85%. However, the accuracy dropped to 64% for three-class classification and to 44% for subject-independent, leave-one-participant-out classification. The worst results were obtained in the severely sleepy class. The results show that in realistic driving conditions, subject-independent sleepiness classification based on HRV is poor. The conclusion is that more work is needed to control for the many confounding factors that also influence HRV before it can be used as input to a driver sleepiness detection system.

We have developed a new fiber-optic system that combines diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and laser Doppler Flowmetry (LDF) for a multi-modal assessment of the microcirculation. Quantitative data is achieved with an inverse Monte Carlo algorithm based on an individually adaptive skin model. The output parameters are calculated from the model and given in absolute units: hemoglobin oxygen saturation (%), red blood cell (RBC) tissue fraction (%), and the speed resolved RBC perfusion separated into three speed regions; 0-1 mm/s, 1-10 mm/s and above 10 mm/s (% mm/s). The aim was to explore microcirculatory parameters using the new optical method, integrating DRS and LDF in a joint skin model, during local heating of the dorsal foot and venous and arterial occlusion of the forearm in 23 healthy subjects (age 20-28 years). There were differences in the three speed regions in regard to blood flow changes due to local heating, where perfusion for high speeds increased the most. There was also a high correlation between changes in oxygenation and changes in perfusion for higher speeds. Oxygen saturation at baseline was 44% on foot, increasing to 83% at plateau after heating. The larger increase in perfusion for higher speeds than for lower speeds together with the oxygenation increase during thermal provocation, shows a local thermoregulatory blood flow in presumably arteriolar dermal vessels. In conclusion, there are improved possibilities to assess microcirculation using integrated DRS and LDF in a joint skin model by enabling both oxygenation and speed resolved blood flow assessment simultaneously and in the same skin site. Output parameters in absolute units may also yield new insights about the microcirculatory system.

Skin and kidney microvascular functions may be affected independently in diabetes mellitus. We investigated skin microcirculatory function in 79 subjects with diabetes type 2, where 41 had microalbuminuria and 38 not, and in 41 age-matched controls. The oxygen saturation, fraction of red blood cells and speed-resolved microcirculatory perfusion (% red blood cells × mm/s) divided into three speed regions: 0-1, 1-10 and above 10 mm/s, were assessed during baseline and after local heating of the foot with a new device integrating diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and laser Doppler flowmetry. Arterial stiffness was assessed as carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity. Subjects with diabetes and microalbuminuria had significantly higher carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity compared to subjects without microalbuminuria and to controls. The perfusion for speeds 0-1 mm/s and red blood cell tissue fraction were reduced in subjects with diabetes at baseline and after heating, independent of microalbuminuria. These parameters were correlated to HbA1c. In conclusion, the reduced nutritive perfusion and red blood cell tissue fraction in type 2 diabetes were related to long-term glucose control but independent of microvascular changes in the kidneys and large-vessel stiffness. This may be due to different pathogenic pathways in the development of nephropathy, large-vessel stiffness and cutaneous microvascular impairment.