Application of digital holographic microscopy to evaluate the dynamics of a single red blood cell influenced by low-power laser light

In the paper, a shift of individual human erythrocytes drifts speed, stimulated by various low-power lasers irradiation, was studied by digital holographic microscopy (DHM). Well known in physiotherapy, a low-levellaser-therapy (LLLT) scanner was used as the stimulation light source, with diode and He-Ne lasers to compare. In the article, an open-source image processing algorithm for simultaneous dynamics and geometrical properties evaluations of the red blood cells is proposed. A strong influence of the low-level red light on the red blood cells dynamics was observed. The effect is important for a better understanding of the laser treatment mechanism. The proposed phase image analysis algorithm significantly improves the individual cells tracing precision for a life science application. The programme might be useful for optical tweezer, imaging flow cytometry, or high precision cells-photon interaction research.

Automated summary

The study showed a significant influence of low-level red light on the dynamics of red blood cells, which is important for understanding the laser treatment mechanism. The proposed phase image analysis algorithm improves the precision of cell tracing and may have wide applications in the field of life science.