Imaging of the skin microvascularization using spatially depolarized dynamic speckle

Abstract

Significance: We propose a technique devoted to real-time high-resolution imaging of skin microvascularization. Aim: The process utilizes the temporal variation of the spatially depolarized optical speckle field generated by moving red blood cells when illuminated with fully polarized coherent light. Approach: Polarimetric filtering prevents the contribution of surface scattering from reaching the camera and thus favors the detection of multiscattered photons from the deeper layers of the skin. Results: Full-field images reveal the microvasculature with a spatial resolution of 80  μm. The acquisition speed allows for real-time applications. Conclusions: We demonstrate the ability of this method to determine in 1 s a stable and reliable microvascular activity, enabling numerous clinical applications that require quantitative measurements.