The invention provides a device for detecting a moving embolism in a blood vessel. One or more sources of electromagnetic radiation deliver electromagnetic radiation to the blood vessel. First and second optical detectors, positioned at a downstream and an upstream location, respectively, along the flow axis of the blood vessel, detect electromagnetic radiation emitted by the sources at the downstream and upstream locations, after having been reflected from, or transmitted through, the blood vessel. A processor monitors one or more parameters of the electromagnetic radiation detected by the downstream and upstream detectors. An embolus in the blood vessel is detected when a transient change in a monitored parameter is first detected by the downstream detector, and, after a time lag, is then detected by the upstream detector.
