Analytical performance evaluation of the scanning capillary tube viscometer for measurement of whole blood viscosity

Abstract

BackgroundWhole blood viscosity (WBV) is the resistance of blood flow in blood vessels. Increased WBV may be a cardiovascular risk factor. The proper screening of WBV can help the early detection of cardiovascular disease. We investigated the performance of a new scanning capillary tube viscometer (SCTV) for the measurement of WBV. MethodsWe evaluated the total precision of the SCTV for 20days using three control viscosity materials, and the within-day precision with the whole blood samples of three different individuals. For the linearity evaluation, serial dilutions of a high concentration standard material were used. For the method comparison, the results of the SCTV method were compared to those of Brookfield rotating viscometer on 227 subjects. ResultsThe SCTV had good within-run and total-run coefficient of variant (CV)s at low-, medium-, and high-concentration samples, at shear rates of 1 and 300s−1. The within-day CVs with the three human blood samples were 6.3%, 3.7% and 3.8% at a shear rate of 1s−1, and 3.2%, 3.0% and 4.1% at a shear rate of 300s−1. The SCTV method showed an excellent linearity in the range of 84.9 to 558.2 milliPoise (mP) and 28.8 to 71.0 mP at shear rates of 1 and 300s−1, respectively. For the comparison study, the SCTV and the rotating viscometer showed comparable results. ConclusionsThe SCTV showed a stable analytical performance, and was comparable with the rotational viscometer. This new SCTV method can be used in the clinical laboratory for various needs.