Concurrent measurement of skeletal muscle blood flow during exercise with diffuse correlation spectroscopy and Doppler ultrasound.

Chandan-Ganesh Bangalore-Yogananda,Michael D Nelson,Sagar Soni,Fenghua Tian,Ryan Rosenberry,Hanli Liu

doi:10.1364/boe.9.000131

Chandan-Ganesh Bangalore-Yogananda, Michael D Nelson + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1364/boe.9.000131

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Abstract

Noninvasive, direct measurement of local muscle blood flow in humans remains limited. Diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) is an emerging technique to measure regional blood flow at the microvascular level. In order to better understand the strengths and limitations of this novel technique, we performed a validation study by comparing muscle blood flow changes measured with DCS and Doppler ultrasound during exercise. Nine subjects were measured (all males, 27.4 ± 2.9 years of age) for a rhythmic handgrip exercise at 20% and 50% of individual maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), followed by a post-exercise recovery. The results from DCS and Doppler ultrasound were highly correlated (R = 0.99 ± 0.02). DCS was more reliable and less susceptible to motion artifact.

Highlights

Skeletal muscle blood flow is a key determinant of aerobic capacity, which is an independent predictor of quality of life and cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality [1–6]
The major findings were two-fold: First, we demonstrate close agreement between Diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) and Doppler ultrasound, both in terms of the magnitude of change and the temporal relationship
We found that DCS was more reliable than traditional Doppler ultrasound, highlighting the clinical application of this new technology

Summary

Introduction

Skeletal muscle blood flow is a key determinant of aerobic capacity, which is an independent predictor of quality of life and cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality [1–6]. Monitoring skeletal muscle blood flow regulation is essential to provide pathophysiological insight and clinical diagnosis, as well as to evaluate treatment efficacy. Numerous noninvasive methods exist to quantify skeletal muscle blood flow, such as venous occlusion plethysmography. These techniques measure changes in bulk conduit flow and do not provide regional (microvascular) or temporal information. Arterialspin-labeled magnetic resonance imaging (ASL-MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) can measure skeletal muscle microvascular perfusion, but are expensive and technically challenging and not available to all clinics or laboratories. As with PET, limits application to certain populations

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