Myocardial tissue motion influence on laser Doppler perfusion monitoring using tissue Doppler imaging

Tissue motion of the beating heart generates large movement artifacts in the laser Doppler perfusion monitoring (LDPM) signal. The aim of the study was to use tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) to localise intervals during the cardiac cycle where the influence of movement artifacts on the LDPM signal is minimum. TDI velocities and LDPM signals were investigated on three calves, for normal heartbeat and during occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Intervals of low tissue velocity (TDI_int<1 cm s⁻¹) during the cardiac cycle were identified. During occlusion, these intervals were compared with low LDPM signal intervals (LDPM_int<50% compared with baseline). Low-velocity intervals were found in late systole (normal and occlusion) and late diastole (normal). Systolic intervals were longer and less sensitive to heart rate variation compared with diastolic ones. The overlap between LDPM_int and TDI_int in relation to TDI_int length was 84±27% (n=14). The LDPM signal was significantly (p<0.001, n=14) lower during occlusion if calculated during minimum tissue motion inside TDI_int), compared with averaging over the entire cardiac cycle without taking tissue motion into consideration. In conclusion, movement artifacts are reduced if the LDPM signal is correlated to the ECG and investigated during minimum wall motion. The optimum interval depends on the application; late systole and late diastole can be used.