Blood microcirculation monitoring by use of spatial filtering of time-integrated speckle patterns: potentialities to improve the depth resolution

Statistical analysis of images of time-integrated dynamic speckle patterns is considered as the tool for diagnostics and imaging of in vivo tissue dynamics such as blood microcirculation in superficial layers of human tissues and organs. Basic approach for blood microcirculation monitoring using the contrast analysis of time-averaged speckle images is known as LASCA (Laser Speckle Contrast Analysis) technique. This paper presents the modified version of LASCA, which is based on application of the localized probe light source and the spatial filtration of analyzed speckle pattern in the object plane. Being compared with classical LASCA technique, this method has the certain disadvantage as the necessity of scanning procedure to provide the reconstruction of maps of blood microcirculation parameters, but it gives the additional possibilities for the analysis of depth distributions of these parameters. Theoretical background for the depth-resolved analysis of blood microcirculation parameters on the basis of the concept of effective optical path distributions for multiply scattered probe light is considered. The effect of non-zero residual contrast even in the case of large integration times is also discussed.