Fiber-optic laser-Doppler anemometer microscope applied to the cerebral microcirculation in rats.

We have applied our developed fiber-optic laser-Doppler anemometer microscope (FLDAM) for the study of the cerebral microcirculation in the rat. The red cell velocity in single pial microvessels was successfully measured through a closed cranial window for the vessel diameter range from 7.8 to 230 microns. The temporal resolution of the FLDAM was sufficiently high to detect the pulsation in the arterioles. Arterio-venous distributions of the temporal mean red cell velocity and wall shear rate are also described.