Quantification of cell-free layer thickness and cell distribution of blood by optical coherence tomography

A high-speed optical coherence tomography (OCT) with 1-μm 1-μm axial resolution was applied to assess the thickness of a cell-free layer (CFL) and a spatial distribution of red blood cells (RBC) next to the microchannel wall. The experiments were performed in vitro in a plain glass microchannel with a width of 2 mm and height of 0.2 mm. RBCs were suspended in phosphate buffered saline solution at the hematocrit level of 45%. Flow rates of 0.1 to 0.5  ml/h 0.5  ml/h were used to compensate gravity induced CFL. The results indicate that OCT can be efficiently used for the quantification of CFL thickness and spatial distribution of RBCs in microcirculatory blood flow.