Affiliations: Centre for Complex Fluids Processing, School of Engineering, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK
Note: [] Corresponding author: Prof. P.R. Williams, CEng, FInstP, FIChemE, EPSRC Portfolio Partnership in Complex Fluids and Complex Flows, School of Engineering, University of Wales Swansea, UK. Tel.: +44 (0) 1792 295673; E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract: We report studies of the coagulation of samples of whole human blood by oscillatory shear techniques, including Fourier Transform Mechanical Spectroscopy (FTMS). These techniques are used herein to identify the Gel Point of coagulating blood in terms of the Chambon–Winter Gel Point criterion which provides a rheometrical basis for detecting the establishment of an incipient clot. A comparison of the results of FTMS with those obtained from measurements involving a Thromboelastograph (TEG) and a Free Oscillation Rheometer (FOR) indicate that the latter techniques are not capable of detecting the incipient clot, whose establishment occurs several minutes prior to TEG or FOR-based assessments of clot formation time. The results of the present study suggest that FTMS is a useful tool in blood clotting research, being capable of providing a global coagulation profile in addition to detecting the instant of incipient clot formation.
Keywords: Incipient blood clot, gel point, clotting time, clot microstructure, fractal dimension
