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Review of laser speckle-based analysis in medical imaging

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Abstract

Speckle pattern forms when a rough object is illuminated with coherent light (laser) and the backscattered radiation is imaged on a screen. The pattern changes over time due to movement in the object. Such time-integrate speckle pattern can be statistically analyzed to reveal the flow profile. For higher velocity the speckle contrast gets reduced. This theory can be utilized for tissue perfusion in capillaries of human skin tissue and cerebral blood flow mapping in rodents. Early, the technique was suffered from low resolution and computational intricacies for real-time monitoring purpose. However, modern engineering has made it feasible for real-time monitoring in microcirculation imaging with improved resolution. This review illustrates several modifications over classical technique done by many researchers. Recent advances in speckle contrast methods gain major interest, leading towards practical implementation of this technique. The review also brings out the scopes of laser speckle-based analysis in various medical applications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medical Science and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721302, India

    Kausik Basak, M. Manjunatha & Pranab Kumar Dutta

  2. Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721302, India

    Pranab Kumar Dutta

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  1. Kausik Basak
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  2. M. Manjunatha
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  3. Pranab Kumar Dutta
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Correspondence to Kausik Basak.

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Basak, K., Manjunatha, M. & Dutta, P.K. Review of laser speckle-based analysis in medical imaging. Med Biol Eng Comput 50, 547–558 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-012-0902-z

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