Abstract
We developed a Multipoint Laser Doppler Velocimeter (MLDV) system for the simultaneous measurement of data in transparent fluid. The MLDV was constructed in order to apply linear measurement techniques to a series of single points. We developed of MLDV using a linear optical plastic fiber array and were able to improve the measurement of opaque fluids, such as blood. This fiber array has 40 optical fibers with a total width of 5.0 mm; each optical fiber has a core diameter of 100 μm. Some performances have greatly improved compared with a conventional laser Doppler blood flowmeter. The present system can measure absolute velocity and, based on this, can display the tomograph of blood vessels courses. The spatial resolutions of each of x-y axes and z axis in this system are 100 and 500 μm. The MLDV is able to acquire the high-resolution in vivo three dimensional mapping of blood flow with the velocity, particularly in the smaller arterioles and venules, by using a scanning method. The MLDV was developed primarily for using in the diagnosis of cancer. We attempted to perform blood flow velocity imaging of a malignant melanoma which transplanted in mouse ear.
