3. Medical Diagnostic Applications of Laser Technology

3.4 Laser Doppler Flowmetry (LDF)

Laser Doppler Flowmetry measures microvascular blood flow using the Doppler effect. When a low-power laser illuminates moving red blood cells, the backscattered light experiences a frequency shift proportional to the velocity and volume of the blood flow. This data is then processed to create maps of tissue perfusion, inflammation, or wound healing dynamics.

LDF is widely used in burn assessment, peripheral artery disease monitoring, and diabetic foot screening, providing clinicians with a non-invasive method for evaluating microcirculatory function in real time (Barsom et al., 2016). Recent advancements have improved LDF’s spatial resolution, and hybrid systems now combine LDF with thermal imaging or near-infrared spectroscopy for multimodal diagnostics.