The capillary refill time (CRT) of a patient is an important feature in the determination of cardiovascular system health. Quick re-perfusion of the microcirculation (namely, the capillaries) is a good indication that the cardiovascular system is able to efficiently distribute blood throughout the body. Current systems use unreliable or subjective methods to test the CRT. Additionally, the calculation of CRT is not generally used in the adult medical space as it is more commonly used in pediatrics. The present application describes a system and method for calculating a patient's CRT using a mobile device with an integrated camera and light source, or an optical head-mounted display using a light source in combination with ambient light to calculate the CRT. Once a patient's CRT is calculated, an integrated application classifies the data and sends it to the treating clinician for review.