Device and method for in vivo detection of clots within circulatory vessels

A device for the continuous monitoring of a circulatory vessel of a living organism, comprising:

• a. an in vivo flow cytometer, wherein the in vivo flow cytometer comprises
• i. a pulsed laser configured to pulse target objects comprising light absorbing red blood cells and non-absorbing clots within the circulatory vessel with a plurality of laser pulses at a pulse wavelength ranging between about 400 nm and about 2500 nm;
• ii. an ultrasound transducer configured to receive photoacoustic signals emitted by the target objects in response to the laser pulses and generate an output;
• and
• iii. an optical module configured to convert the wavelength, pulse rate, or both wavelength and pulse rate of the laser pulses emitted by the pulsed laser to desired values;
• and
• b. a processor configured to:
• receive the output from the ultrasound transducer, wherein the output comprises a photoacoustic pattern;
• and
• analyze the output to determine the presence of any negative dips in the photoacoustic pattern which are below a threshold, wherein the threshold is established such that a negative dip below the threshold indicates the presence of a clot.