Blood velocity measurements in human retinal vessels.

Laser Doppler velocimetry was used to measure the velocity of blood in human retinal vessels. The mean flow velocities obtained were 1.9 centimeters per second in a retinal vein and 2.2 centimeters per second in a retinal artery. Scattered light from a weak helium-neon laser beam focused on the vessel was detected by a photomultiplier, and the temporal correlation of the intensity fluctuations was measured with a photon counting autocorrelator. Autocorrelation functions for blood flowing through glass capillaries were used for calibration.