Dried Droplets of Diluted Blood to Detect a High Concentration of Lipids

Abstract

Hyperlipidemia is the elevated concentration of lipids in the blood, and it increases the probability of arterial obstruction, infarctions, and other complications of the circulatory system. While there are indications that qualitative analysis of blood stains could potentially identify patients with this pathology, the efficacy of this method remains uncertain. In this paper, we report an experimental study that investigates the formation of patterns in dried blood droplets with varying concentrations of ultrapure water. Two blood samples, one healthy and one with moderate hyperlipidemia, were examined to determine the ideal water and blood mixtures for detecting high lipid concentrations. Numerous intricate patterns were observed throughout the central region and periphery of the dried droplet. These patterns encompass various forms, such as plaques, bump-like patterns, and a range of cracks including random, radial, and ortho-radial configurations. By calculating the entropy of the Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) and analyzing ROC curves, we determined that solutions with 4% and 12% hematocrit (indicating a high percentage of ultrapure water) exhibit over 95% accuracy in differentiating high lipid concentrations. These findings provide a promising outlook for the development of diagnostic methods based on the study of diluted blood coatings.