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drnase
20th June 2005, 06:07 PM
Arch Dermatol. 2004 Jun;137(6):741-4. Related Articles, Links


Imaging blood flow in human port-wine stain in situ and in real time using optical Doppler tomography.

Nelson JS, Kelly KM, Zhao Y, Chen Z.

Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic, University of California, Irvine, 1002 Health Sciences Rd E, Irvine, CA 92612, USA. snelson@laser.bli.uci.edu

BACKGROUND: Optical Doppler tomography (ODT) combines laser Doppler flowmetry with optical coherence tomography to obtain high-resolution images of blood flow in human skin in situ and in real time. OBSERVATIONS: We present a case in which ODT was used on a patient with a port-wine stain (PWS) birthmark to document the change of blood flow in response to laser therapy. It might be possible to use ODT blood flow measurements in situ to assist in assessing the efficacy of laser PWS therapy. If partial restoration of flow occurs immediately or shortly after laser exposure, indicative of reperfusion due to inadequate blood vessel injury, the PWS can be retreated using higher light dosages. Retreatment is continued until the measured Doppler shift is zero due to a permanent reduction in blood flow, indicative of irreversible microthrombus formation in the PWS vessels. CONCLUSIONS: We have demonstrated that ODT may be used for noninvasive imaging of blood vessels in PWS skin. Moreover, ODT will potentially allow laser therapy to be optimized on an individual patient basis by providing a fast, semiquantitative evaluation of the efficacy of PWS laser therapy in situ and in real time.

Jordan
20th June 2005, 07:51 PM
Very exciting, I wonder when we can expect this to benefit us rosacea'ers.

RachelRose
21st June 2005, 09:01 PM
Jordan, if you understand this information could you give us an abstract?

Strive
22nd June 2005, 01:36 AM
Correct me if I'm mistaken, but my very basic understanding is that treatments could be more customized and on the spot, to use just enough light to kill off the blood vessels in an incremental fashion.

It would eliminate the guessing game of how powerful to make the laser to get better results, and presumably reduce the risks associated.