Microcirculation has been identified as a means to monitor an individual’s cardiovascular health. Both positive and negative changes to the vasculature have been shown to be preceded by changes in the microvasculature. In the first year of this project, the team has established a proof of concept device capable of recording blood vessels in the conjunctiva of the eye and created a pipeline of measurement, stabilization, and analysis to serve as the foundation for the project to build upon. The future of this project moves toward the development of a unified system for monitoring microcirculation in the eye, nailfold, and tongue with features designed for quick and streamlined use in an outpatient, clinical setting. Tracking and predicting the vascular health of an individual can help physicians assess the risk of common diseases such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, and severe symptoms related to diabetes.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Dr. Peter Chen for his unwavering support and guidance as we navigated this project from the ground up. We would also like to thank our Professor Bruce Wheeler, Mahika Lunker, and the rest of the instructional team for providing us with an abundance of resources and support throughout each quarter of BENG 187.