High-resolution functional photoacoustic monitoring of vascular dynamics in human fingers

Joongho Ahn; Jin Young Kim; Wonseok Choi; Chulhong Kim

doi:10.1016/j.pacs.2021.100282

High-resolution functional photoacoustic monitoring of vascular dynamics in human fingers

Photoacoustics. 2021 Jun 25:23:100282. doi: 10.1016/j.pacs.2021.100282. eCollection 2021 Sep.

Authors

Joongho Ahn¹, Jin Young Kim¹, Wonseok Choi¹, Chulhong Kim¹

Affiliation

¹ Departments of Electrical Engineering, Convergence IT Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Medical Device Innovation Center, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Functional imaging of microvascular dynamics in extremities delivers intuitive information for early detection, diagnosis, and prognosis of vascular diseases. High-resolution and high-speed photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) visualizes and measures multiparametric information of microvessel networks in vivo such as morphology, flow, oxygen saturation, and metabolic rate. Here, we demonstrate high-resolution photoacoustic monitoring of vascular dynamics in human fingers. We photoacoustically monitored the position displacement of blood vessels associated with arterial pulsation in human fingers. Then, during and after arterial occlusion, we photoacoustically quantified oxygen consumption and blood perfusion in the fingertips. The results demonstrate that high-resolution functional PAM could be a vital tool in peripheral vascular examination for measuring heart rate, oxygen consumption, and/or blood perfusion.

Keywords: Blood vessel; Digital vasculature; Hemodynamics; Oxygen saturation; Perfusion; Photoacoustic microscopy; Pulsation.