One aspect of the invention provides a method for assessing peripheral arterial function in a subject. The method includes: conducting diffuse correlation spectroscopy on a local region of the subject applying pressure to restrict blood flow to the local region for a period of time conducting diffuse correlation spectroscopy on the local region while the pressure is applied releasing the pressure and conducting diffuse correlation spectroscopy on the local region after the pressure is released. Another aspect of the invention provides a system including: a diffuse correlation spectroscopy device and a pressure cuff.
