Ultrasonic backscatter from rat blood in aggregating media under in vitro rotational flow

Ultrasonic backscatter from flowing and static rat red blood cells (RBCs) in autologous plasma and in 360 kDa polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP 360) solution was measured as a function of hematocrit. The flow speed was varied by a stirring magnet in a cylindrical chamber. The radio-frequency (RF) signals backscattered by RBC samples were measured over 5 min in a pulse-echo setup with a 5 MHz focused transducer. Although the intact rat blood has poor RBC aggregability, RBC aggregation of rat blood was enhanced by replacing its plasma with a higher molecular weight polymer solution. The experimental results showed that the nonlinear relationship between hematocrit and ultrasonic backscatter from rat RBCs in plasma and aggregating media is affected by flow speed, which may provide a unified insight into hematocrit dependence of RBC aggregation under flowing and static conditions.