Table 1.

Comparative table on the two techniques.

	Laser Doppler flowmetry	Laser Doppler imaging
Flare response	–Temporal resolution at a single defined skin point with a predefined distance from the delivery capsule of acetylcholine –Illumination of tissue sample with single-frequency laser light –Perfusion estimation by processing the frequency distribution of the backscattered light	–Spatial and temporal resolution, generating a two-dimensional map of superficial cutaneous perfusion over time –Imaging instrument scans skin area with a laser beam to record images, as a map of single-point cell data –Images reflect perfusion values of each measured cell
Characteristics	–Not applicable for clinical diagnostic of neuropathy induced vasomotor dysfunction because of high intra- and interindividual measurement variability –Wide use in research to differentiate between patients with peripheral neuropathy and healthy individuals	–Smaller variability due to its spatial resolution –Applicable as clinical diagnostic tool to assess vasomotor dysfunction due to small fiber neuropathy –Clinical use is limited due to lack of standardized image analysis methods –Currently remains on an experimental level of clinical diagnosis