Use of Laser Doppler Imaging to Assess Microvascular Response to Thermal Stress
Evaluating Lower Limb Ischemia
Dixie R. Aragaki, MD, Min-Ning Huang, MD, PhD, Peggy Chen, MD, Peter Yeung, MD, Charles Kunkel, MD, Dorene Opava-Rutter, MD, A.M. Erika Scremin, MD, and Oscar U. Scremin, MD, PhD
Dr. Aragaki is the assistant program director for the physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) residency program at the Greater Los Angeles VA Healthcare System (GLAVAHS) and an assistant clinical professor in the department of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) David Geffen School of Medicine, both in Los Angeles, CA. Dr. Huang, Dr. Chen, and Dr. Yeung are all practicing physiatrists who, at the time of this study, were PM&R residents at the GLAVAHS. Dr. Kunkel is the assistant chief of PM&R services at the GLAVAHS and an associate professor in the department of medicine at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. Dr. Opava-Rutter is the director of PM&R polytrauma at the GLAVAHS. Dr. A. Scremin is the chief of PM&R services at the GLAVAHS and a professor and the chair of the PM&R division of the department of medicine at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. Dr. O. Scremin is a rehabilitation research and development senior research career scientist in the department of research at the GLAVAHS and a professor emeritus in the department of physiology at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.
Assessment of cutaneous microvascular perfusion can provide important clues about wound and amputation healing in patients with diabetes. These investigators examined the practicality of laser Doppler imaging in this setting.