Photo of Marcus Larsson

Marcus Larsson

Deputy Head of Department, Associate Professor, Head of Division, Docent

I am a senior lecturer at the Department of Biomedical Engineering (IMT). My research focus is on new optical techniques for quantitative imaging of the microcirculatory blood flow and blood saturation. 

Multimodal optical imaging of the microcirculation

My work aims to develop new optical techniques for quantifying the microcirculatory blood perfusion and saturation. This includes both pointwise and imaging modalities. 

A comprehensive assessment is achieved by analyzing data from both spectroscopic and lased Doppler based techniques using advanced photon propagation models. This includes Monte Carlo simulations, multi-dimensional optimization algorithms and parallel processing for a massive computational speed-up. 

Theoretical and applied biomedical optics

The speed of moving red blood cells can be assessed by analyzing the Doppler effects in light that has been backscattered from a laser illuminated tissue. Until recently only relative speed estimations have been possible by analyzing either spatial and temporal variations in the laser speckle pattern that is formed by the backscattered light. My current research focuses on how to improve both the hardware and the mathematical models to enable quantitative estimations of flow speed in single point measurements or images. This includes novel camera-based setups where images are acquired and processed at extreme frame rates.

By combining laser Doppler techniques with white light spectroscopy a more comprehensive assessment of the microcirculation can be attained. My research within white light spectroscopy mainly focuses on how the unique spectral characteristics of oxygenized and reduced hemoglobin can be used to quantify the blood saturation. This includes state-of-the-art inverse Monte Carlo algorithms that accounts for both hardware related limitations and inter-individual variations in the tissue optical and geometrical properties. 

Present commissions

  • Director of Undergraduate Studies at my department
  • Director of Graduate Studies at my department

Degrees

  • MSc, Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering, 1999
  • PhD, Biomedical Instrumentation, 2006

Undergraduate teaching

My teaching activities at the Department of Biomedical Engineering mainly includes project courses with a strong CDIO (Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate) focus. I’m also acting as a teacher in courses that include modeling and simulation of photon transport in tissue:

Publications

2024

Sara Bergstrand, Hanna Jonasson, Ingemar Fredriksson, Marcus Larsson, Carl Johan Östgren, Tomas Strömberg (2024) Association between cardiovascular risk profile and impaired microvascular function in a Swedish middle-aged cohort (the SCAPIS study) European Journal of Preventive Cardiology Continue to DOI

2023

Hanna Jonasson, Ingemar Fredriksson, Sara Bergstrand, Carl Johan Östgren, Marcus Larsson, Tomas Strömberg (2023) Absorption and reduced scattering coefficients in epidermis and dermis from a Swedish cohort study Journal of Biomedical Optics, Vol. 28 Continue to DOI
Martin Hultman, Marcus Larsson, Tomas Strömberg, Ingemar Fredriksson (2023) Speed-resolved perfusion imaging using multi-exposure laser speckle contrast imaging and machine learning Journal of Biomedical Optics, Vol. 28, Article 036007 Continue to DOI
Martin Hultman, Marcus Larsson, Tomas Strömberg, Joakim Henricson, Fredrik Iredahl, Ingemar Fredriksson (2023) Flowmotion imaging analysis of spatiotemporal variations in skin microcirculatory perfusion Microvascular Research, Vol. 146, Article 104456 Continue to DOI
Hanna Jonsson, Ingemar Fredriksson, Sara Bergstrand, Carl Johan Östgren, Marcus Larsson, Tomas Strömberg (2023) Absorption and reduced scattering coefficients in epidermis and dermis from a Swedish cohort study PHOTONICS IN DERMATOLOGY AND PLASTIC SURGERY 2023, Article 123520C Continue to DOI

Research

Co-supervision of doctoral students

Coworkers

Organisation