Photoacoustic Doppler flow measurement in optically scattering media

We recently observed the photoacoustic Doppler effect from flowing small light-absorbing particles. Here, we apply the effect to measure blood-mimicking fluid flow in an optically scattering medium. The light scattering in the medium decreases the amplitude of the photoacoustic Doppler signal but does not affect either the magnitude or the directional discrimination of the photoacoustic Doppler shift. This technology may hold promise for a new Doppler method for measuring blood flow in microcirculation with high sensitivity. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.