Dynamic assessment of plasma clotting in samples with distinct fibrinogen concentrations using impulsive acoustic radiation force

Abstract

While some diseases reduce fibrinogen concentration, others increase the amount of this clotting factor in the blood. Some studies have shown that the fibrinogen concentration in the blood is related to the stiffness of the formed clot. Hence, the aim of this study was to employ an ultrasonic method based on impulsive acoustic radiation force (IARF) to identify the fibrinogen concentration (coagulation factor I) in a plasma sample by means of peak-displacement (PD), time of peak-displacement (TPD), and shear modulus (μ) as well as to identify the change of plasma samples during the clot formation process. The IARF-based ultrasonic system transmitted bursts with a frequency of 2.03 MHz, duration of 246.31 µs, amplitude of 118 VPP, and pulse with 1.25 Hz repetition frequency to generate an IARF on a glass sphere (2.99 mm in diameter and 2500 kg/m3 in density) embedded in a plasma sample, causing a displacement that was monitored by a pulse-echo system with a center frequency of 4.89 MHz. The values of the shear moduli were 124.14 ± 3.02, 556.99 ± 11.76, and 670.39 ± 9.77 Pa, for fibrinogen concentrations of 1.2, 2.4, and 3.6 g/L 20 to 36 min after the beginning of the coagulation process. The TPD values obtained in the same period were 5.28 ± 0.09, 3.03 ± 0.02, and 2.83 ± 0.01 s. The results indicate that an IARF-based ultrasonic system can be used clinically because it uses small amounts of plasma and has the ability to detect differences in PD, TPD, and μ as a function of fibrinogen concentrations.