LAUSR

Speckle imaging method is useful for monitoring of blood flow in living bodies. We have proposed so far the method for simultaneous imaging of blood flow and blood concentration change using laser speckle patterns at two wavelengths. However, our conventional measurement system has difficulty in adjusting the illuminating optical axis of two laser sources. Therefore, we introduce a novel arrangement using a coaxial fiber illumination in the detection of speckle patterns in two wavelengths. By this arrangement, the blood flow can be stably analyzed with a frame rate using an estimation parameter proposed by the authors based on the spatial contrast of speckle patterns. This parameter is useful for estimating an autonomic nervous function which reflects stress conditions caused by tension and excitement. In this study, we present measurements of the blood flow and blood concentration change in the fiber illumination, and its application to estimation of stress condition.