Currently the diagnosis of hemorrhagic shock is essentially clinical, relying on the expertise of nurses and doctors. One of the first measurable physiological changes that marks the onset of hemorrhagic shock is a decrease in capillary blood flow. Diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) quantifies this decrease. DCS collects and analyzes multiply scattered, coherent, near infrared light to assess relative blood flow. This work presents a preliminary study using a DCS instrument with human subjects undergoing a lower body negative pressure (LBNP) protocol. This work builds on previous successful DCS instrumentation development and we believe it represents progress toward understanding how DCS can be used in a clinical setting.
Keywords: Diffuse correlation spectroscopy; capillary blood flow monitoring; hemorrhagic shock; microcirculation; multiple-scattering; speckle.