Real-Time Mapping of Blood Perfusion during Neurosurgical Interventions

Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) in neurosurgery is a promising method for vascular blood flow mapping during surgery for aneurysms and other interventions. In order to introduce this method into routine practice, it is necessary to solve the urgent issue of its conjugation with the normal surgical algorithm and the extent to which the method allows detecting changes in perfusion in the vessels during various interventions. In this work, blood flow through the carotid arteries of laboratory rats was analyzed supported by two types of light collection: camera lens and neurosurgical microscope. Carotid arteries were chosen for the study because of ease of access and close dimensional characteristics to typical human cerebral arteries. Carotid artery clipping was chosen as the procedure that changes the level of blood flow. The registered map sequences were evaluated in terms of differences in blood flow during the clipping period and during control measurements. The results showed that when working with the LSCI-neurosurgical microscope setup, the calculated ratio was significantly lower than when working through the camera lens.