Erasmus MC is conducting a study on the increased risk of cardiovascular disease in women who have migraine. For this purpose, 50 healthy women and 50 women with migraine in age category of 40-60 years were compared using measurements of their dermal blood flow.
These measurements are done using two different imaging devices: Laser Speckle Imaging and Laser Doppler Imaging. The result is a recording of the fluctuations in the dermal blood flow over a time period influenced by circumstances and various mechanisms and consists of signal like curves. Erasmus MC have processed these measurements and obtained results. However, they are interested in whether applying Fourier Transform could offer additional insights or new (perhaps faster) methods to process the measurements.
The signal like curves can possibly be decomposed into sine and cosine waves using Fourier Transform. The result of the Fourier Transform consists of a visualisation of the intensity of the various components of such a waveform/curve. Based on that, it is possible to estimate the contribution of the mechanisms to blood perfusion. Existing literature and previous studies provide frequency intervals related to several mechanisms that influence the dermal blood flow.
This thesis will research to what extent the mechanisms contribute to the dermal blood flow across the different phases and how their behaviour differs when the circumstances for the measurement are adjusted. Perhaps there are behaviours that are instantly recognizable across all patients. An interesting question to answer would be whether it is possible to directly visualise the risk groups.