Towards a new method of assessing the antithrombotic properties of pharmaceutical compounds

This paper describes the initial development of a novel technique which, following further work, may prove suitable for the in vivo screening of pharmaceutical compounds for evidence of antithrombotic activity. Its inception is shown to be a consequence of an amalgamation of those ultrasonic methods associated with the clinical detection of occlusions and laser Doppler velocimetry. Both topics are discussed and then brought together through a concept whereby the efficacy of compounds might be evaluated in animal models by measuring the velocity of blood in the fluid jet formed distal to an induced thrombus. In accord with the evolved measurement rationale there then follows a description of a laser Doppler microscope, an analyser for extracting the required velocity information from the Doppler shift spectrum and a series of experiments using a thrombus analogue in a narrow-bore glass flow tube. Finally, the results from one in vivo experiment are presented. Speculation about how the method might be developed further is contained within the discussion.