Combined fluorescence and laser speckle contrast imaging system and applications of same

A system for intraoperative assessment of parathyroid gland viability of a living subject for guidance in a surgery, comprising:

• a light source for emitting a beam of light to illuminate a target of interest;
• and
• an imaging head configured to be positioned over the target of interest for acquiring auto-fluorescence images and laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) images of light from the illuminated target of interest responsive to the illumination, wherein the imaging head comprises:
• a detector disposed in a top portion of the image head for individually acquiring the auto-fluorescence images and the LSCI images;
• a first lens and a second lens positioned in an optical path, wherein the first lens is configured to collect the light from the illuminated target of interest in a surgical field, and the second lens is configured to focus the collected light to the detector;
• and
• a movable switching plate accommodating filters and an iris, being located between the first lens and the second lens, and operably moving between a first position and a second position, such that when the movable switching plate is in the first position, the filters are positioned in the optical path and the detector operably acquires the auto-fluorescence images, and when the movable switching plate is in the second position, the iris is positioned in the optical path and the detector acquires the LSCI images.