Background: The use of objective methods for assessment of burns is limited. Laser Speckle Con-

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IntroductionMicrovascular changes in the skin due to pharmacological and physiological provocations can be used as a marker for vascular function. While laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) has been used extensively for measurement of skin microvascular responses, Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging (LSCI) and Tissue Viability Imaging (TiVi) are novel imaging techniques. TiVi measures red blood cell concentration, while LDF and LSCI measure perfusion. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare responses to provocations in the skin using these different techniques.MethodChanges in skin microcirculation were measured in healthy subjects during (1) iontophoresis of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and noradrenaline (NA), (2) local heating and (3) post-occlusive reactive hyperemia (PORH) using LDF, LSCI and TiVi.ResultsIontophoresis of SNP increased perfusion (LSCI: baseline 40.9±6.2 PU; 10-min 100±25 PU; p<0.001) and RBC concentration (TiVi: baseline 119±18; 10-min 150±41 AU; p = 0.011). No change in perfusion (LSCI) was observed after iontophoresis of NA (baseline 38.0±4.4 PU; 10-min 38.9±5.0 PU; p = 0.64), while RBC concentration decreased (TiVi: baseline 59.6±11.8 AU; 10-min 54.4±13.3 AU; p = 0.021). Local heating increased perfusion (LDF: baseline 8.8±3.6 PU; max 112±55 PU; p<0.001, LSCI: baseline 50.8±8.0 PU; max 151±22 PU; p<0.001) and RBC concentration (TiVi: baseline 49.2±32.9 AU; max 99.3±28.3 AU; p<0.001). After 5 minutes of forearm occlusion with prior exsanguination, a decrease was seen in perfusion (LDF: p = 0.027; LSCI: p<0.001) and in RBC concentration (p = 0.045). Only LSCI showed a significant decrease in perfusion after 5 minutes of occlusion without prior exsanguination (p<0.001). Coefficients of variation were lower for LSCI and TiVi compared to LDF for most responses.ConclusionLSCI is more sensitive than TiVi for measuring microvascular changes during SNP-induced vasodilatation and forearm occlusion. TiVi is more sensitive to noradrenaline-induced vasoconstriction. LSCI and TiVi show lower inter-subject variability than LDF. These findings are important to consider when choosing measurement techniques for studying skin microvascular responses.

Urea clearance can be used as a relatively simple method to estimate blood flow changes during microdialysis of vasoactive substances, in particular when the tissue is preconditioned in order to enhance the contrast between baseline and the responses to the provocations. Our results support that, in the model described, urea clearance was superior to the optical methods as it detected both the increases and decrease in blood flow, and the returns to baseline between these periods.

When one is studying the physiology of the cutaneous microcirculation there is a need for relevant non-invasive and versatile techniques. In this study we used a new optical device, the Tissue Viability Imager (TiVi), to map changes in cutaneous microvascular concentrations of red blood cells during iontophoresis of vasoactive substances (noradrenaline (NA) and phenylephrine (Phe) for vasoconstriction and acetylcholine (ACh) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) for vasodilatation). We aimed to present data both individually and pooled, using a four-variable logistic dose response model that is commonly used in similar in vitro vascular studies. The accuracy of the TiVi was also investigated by calculating the coefficient of variation and comparing it with similar tests previously done using laser Doppler imaging.Tests were also performed using the TiVi and LDPI simultaneously to further compare the two methods.Results showed that the TiVi is capable of quantifying vascular responses to iontophorised noradrenaline and phenylephrine without the need to increase background flow first. Results further seem to suggest that when the blood perfusion increases during vasodilatation in skin the initial phase relies mainly on an increase in red blood cell concentration whereas the further perfusion increase is due to an increase in red blood cell velocity.