The peripheral microcirculation of the lower extremity was mesured by a new laser diode (abbr. LD) dye densitometer. LD densitometer had various merits over the lamp dye densitometer, i. e., control of light direction, spatial fractionation, low power output, and less heat effect on tissues.
The transducer was composed of two light beams, i. e., 784nm from AIGaAs LD, 940nm from GaAs light emitting diode and Si phototransistor. The signals at the site of measurment of indocyanine green by the transducer were passed through a device with pulse generating power source and amplifier, which was connected with a microcomputer by an A/D converter. The information was stored in a floppy disc. 16 patients with peripheral vascular insufficiency were tested. They were diagnosed as arterial diseases, and lymphedema. LD recordings were reproducible with greater accuracy than by the lamp dye detector. The following results were obtained: 1) The degree of peripheral insufficiency depended on the amount of dye concentration and speed of dye dilution in a given time. 2) The response to drugs (Ca
2+antagonist) to improve peripheral circulation differed from cases. 3) Periodic recordings after the treatment was easy to evaluate the progress of disease.
View full abstract