Laser Doppler Flowmetry versatile acquisition system with low quantization error

Abstract

The Laser Doppler Flowmetry (LDF) is a non-invasive technique used to evaluate blood perfusion of various human tissues like the skin or the fundus of the eye. It is based on the scattering of light on moving red blood cells in tissue. Frequency shifted scattered light is detected and provide an electrical signal. Physical models for LDF use the DC and AC components of this signal. If AC is small relative to the DC, digitalization becomes an issue, and if more than two LDF signal acquisitions and analysis have to be done simultaneously, the device becomes expensive and bulky. We propose here a versatile and inexpensive acquisition system, which overcomes quantization errors issue by first separating DC from AC, then amplifying AC and finally recombining both signals before digitalization. We designed an analog circuit combined with a 12 bit analog-to-digital converter, a microcontroller unit and a Raspberry Pi2 (Rpi2) for the signal processing. Results are accessed remotely from the Rpi2 through HTTP protocol. Multiple systems can easily be used simultaneously for multichannel acquisitions.