We present an innovative, wearable, fiber-free, near-infrared diffuse speckle contrast flowmetry (DSCF) probe that is fixed on the skull for continuous monitoring of cerebral blood flow (CBF) variations in mice during anesthesia, awake, and freely behaving. Results show a small surge when the animal waked up, a mild decrease after the isoflurane washed off, a 37 ± 9% increase during 10%CO2 inhalation (n = 3), and mild elevations during grooming and walking. These CBF variations are consistent with clinical observations when recovery from anesthesia and impacts by isoflurane, hypercapnia (CO2), and activity-induced cortical excitations.
Significance: There is an essential need to develop wearable multimodality technologies that can continuously measure both blood flow and oxygenation in deep tissues to investigate and manage various vascular/cellular diseases.
Aim: To develop a wearable dual-wavelength diffuse speckle contrast flow oximetry (DSCFO) for simultaneous measurements of blood flow and oxygenation variations in deep tissues.
Approach: A wearable fiber-free DSCFO probe was fabricated using 3D printing to confine two small near-infrared laser diodes and a tiny CMOS camera in positions for DSCFO measurements. The spatial diffuse speckle contrast and light intensity measurements at the two different wavelengths enable quantification of tissue blood flow and oxygenation, respectively. The DSCFO was first calibrated using tissue phantoms and then tested in adult forearms during artery cuff occlusion.
Results: Phantom tests determined the largest effective source–detector distance (15 mm) and optimal camera exposure time (10 ms) and verified the accuracy of DSCFO in measuring absorption coefficient variations. The DSCFO detected substantial changes in forearm blood flow and oxygenation resulting from the artery occlusion, which meet physiological expectations and are consistent with previous study results.
Conclusions: The wearable DSCFO may be used for continuous and simultaneous monitoring of blood flow and oxygenation variations in freely behaving subjects.
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