Diagnostics of Functional Abnormalities in the Microcirculation System Using Laser Doppler Flowmetry

Blood microcirculation plays a key role in maintaining tissue homeostasis and is involved in the pathological process in the early stages of the diabetes, leading to severe and difficult-to-treat complications in the future. Vascular tone regulation is an important feature of microvessels and underpins the performance of numerous functions of microcirculation, including metabolic, transport, thermoregulatory, etc. Vascular tone regulation disorders can be detected by studying the reaction of the microcirculatory bed to provocative tests, e.g., to the spectral analysis of peripheral blood flow. One of the most common methods of cutaneous blood flow monitoring is laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF). This chapter reviews the anatomical, morphological, and functional features of cutaneous microcirculation, as well as the microcirculatory disorders caused by diabetes mellitus. The possibility of using the LDF technique in the diagnosis of microcirculation disorders is illustrated using the results of a clinical study conducted to evaluate skin blood flow regulation abnormalities in patients with diabetes mellitus and obtained via the wavelet analysis of the LDF perfusion records. A stepwise protocol for the thermal test, the original data processing methods and specific data interpretation techniques are presented.