Low shear rate viscosity of fresh blood

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Downs, A. | Litt, M. | Kron, R.E.

Affiliations: Department of Bioengineering, College of Engineering and Applied Science and Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, U.S.A.

Note: [] Accepted by: Editor H.L. Goldsmith

Abstract: A capillary viscosmeter is described which allows measurement of the shear rate dependency of fresh blood viscosity at low shear rates. The instrument has been used in a preliminary study to evaluate differences between fresh and EDTA anticoagulated blood. In a shear rate range of 0.5 to 1.3 sec−1 the viscosity of fresh blood is more strongly dependent on hematocrit than is the viscosity of EDTA anticoagulated blood. Also, the viscosity of anticoagulated blood is more sensitive to day-to-day variations than is that of fresh blood. For some subjects, such variations may amount to as much as 30%.

DOI: 10.3233/BIR-1980-171-206

Journal: Biorheology, vol. 17, no. 1-2, pp. 25-35, 1980