Photoacoustic correlation spectroscopy for in vivo blood flow speed measurement

Photoacoustic imaging has been widely used in structural and functional imaging. Because of its safety, high resolution, and high imaging depth, it has great potential for a variety of medical studies. Capillaries are the smallest blood vessels and enable the exchange of oxygen and nutrients. Noninvasive flow speed measurement of capillaries in vivo can benefit the study of vascular tone changes and rheological properties of blood cells in capillaries. Recently, there has been a growing interest in photoacoustic velocimetry, such as photoacoustic Doppler and M-mode photoacoustic flow imaging. Methods capable of high-resolution imaging and low-speed flow measurement are suitable to measure blood speeds in capillaries. Previously we proposed photoacoustic correlation spectroscopy (PACS) and shown its feasibility for low-speed flow measurement. Here, in vivo measurement of blood speeds in capillaries in a chick embryo model by PACS technique is demonstrated. The laser-scanning photoacoustic microscopy system is used for fast imaging acquisition and high-resolution imaging. The measured speed in capillaries is similar to those found in literatures, which confirm the feasibility of the PACS method for blood velocimetry. This technique suggests a fairly simple way to study blood flow speeds in capillaries.