Abstract
A high-speed optical coherence tomography (OCT) with 1-μm 1-μm axial resolution was applied to assess the thickness of a cell-free layer (CFL) and a spatial distribution of red blood cells (RBC) next to the microchannel wall. The experiments were performed in vitro in a plain glass microchannel with a width of 2 mm and height of 0.2 mm. RBCs were suspended in phosphate buffered saline solution at the hematocrit level of 45%. Flow rates of 0.1 to 0.5 ml/h 0.5 ml/h were used to compensate gravity induced CFL. The results indicate that OCT can be efficiently used for the quantification of CFL thickness and spatial distribution of RBCs in microcirculatory blood flow.
Highlights
Many of the common diseases such as diabetes and hypertension have an effect on the microcirculation and further on the rheological properties of blood flow
The top layer containing blood plasma, white blood cells, and platelets formed over red blood cells (RBC) was removed and the obtained RBC mass was diluted with phosphate buffered saline (PBS)
The obtained washed RBC mass was diluted with PBS to the hematocrit of 45% that is typical for the healthy adult male
Summary
Many of the common diseases such as diabetes and hypertension have an effect on the microcirculation and further on the rheological properties of blood flow. The cellfree layer (CFL) which consists mainly of plasma leads to a decreased apparent viscosity of blood This effect is widely known as the Fåhraeus–Lindqvist effect. It is one of the major factors that contribute to the fluid resistance in the microcirculation and has been extensively investigated, especially in glass microchannels.[1,2] The CFL thickness is in the range of a few microns making it challenging to measure. It is commonly measured by light microscopy employing high-speed cameras. To provide better sensitivity, especially in confocal microscopes, RBCs are often labeled with fluorescent markers.[3,4] Labeling increases the complexity of a measurement
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