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Updated: Jun 6, 2026
Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate: A Physics-Driven Characterization in a Medical Context
Published on: March 24, 2023
A novel approach for assessments of erythrocyte sedimentation rate
A Pribush1, L Hatskelzon, N Meyerstein
1Faculty of Health Sciences, Experimental Hematology Laboratory, Physiology Department, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. alexp@bgu.ac.il
Introduction:
Previous studies have shown that the dispersed phase of sedimenting blood undergoes dramatic structural changes: Discrete red blood cell (RBC) aggregates formed shortly after a settling tube is filled with blood are combined into a continuous network followed by its collapse via the formation of plasma channels, and finally, the collapsed network is dispersed into individual fragments. Based on this scheme of structural transformation, a novel approach for assessments of erythrocyte sedimentation is suggested.
Methods:
Information about erythrocyte sedimentation is extracted from time records of the blood conductivity measured after a dispersion of RBC network into individual fragments.
Results:
It was found that the sedimentation velocity of RBC network fragments correlates positively with the intensity of attractive intercellular interactions, whereas no effect of hematocrit (Hct) was observed.
Conclusion:
Thus, unlike Westergren erythrocyte sedimentation rate, sedimentation data obtained by the proposed method do not require correction for Hct.
