Abstract
We report on a new optoelectronic device for monitoring human blood sedimentation and for the determination of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), based on spectroscopic contrast between plasma and sediment. The radiation generated by a yellow light-emitting diode (LED) at 570 nm is transmitted through the plasma volume formed during the sedimentation process, while the sediment itself is practically opaque at this wavelength. The transmitted light flux measured by a photodiode is proportional to the height of the plasma column in the cell, so that complete time evolution of plasma height can be obtained. †On leave from the National R&D Inst. for Isotopic and Molecular Technology, P.O. Box 700, 3400, Cluj-Napoca 5, Romania The time derivative of these curves yields the sedimentation velocity that passes through a maximum. The device was tested using an aqueous suspension of red latex spheres. The ESR obtained for human blood correlates with that determined by the conventional Westergreen method, but anti-correlates with the haematocrit. Due to the reduced cell volume, the quantity of sample needed for analysis is 30 μL (instead of 1 mL); in addition, the time scale of the process is reduced by a factor 4 in comparison with the Westergreen method.
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