MEASUREMENT OF BLOOD VELOCITY IN THE NASAL MUCOSA USING LASER DOPPLER VELOCIMETRY

Abstract

The nasal mucosa is characterized by the presence of the cavernous venous plexus, the so-called “volume blood vessel.” Swelling of the nasal mucosa is thought to depend on the degree of blood congestion in the cavernous venous plexus. Laser Doppler (LD) velocimetry is a relatively uninvasive procedure that allows the blood velocity in the nasal mucosa to be continuously measured. A significant reduction in the LD value is associated with nasal allergies and subjective manifestations. Assessment according to three major symptoms of nasal allergy (sneezing, nasal discharge and nasal stenosis) revealed no significant differences in LD values between patients with or without sneezing or nasal discharge. However, the LD values in patients with nasal stenosis were significantly lower than inpatients without. Based on these findings, LD velocimetry appears to be a useful method for objectively assessing nasal allergy, particularly nasal stenosis.Key words : laser Doppler velocimetry;blood velo-city;nasal stenosis