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Updated: Sep 30, 2025

Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate: A Physics-Driven Characterization in a Medical Context
Published on: March 24, 2023
Erythrocyte Sedimentation: Collapse of a High-Volume-Fraction Soft-Particle Gel
Alexis Darras1, Anil Kumar Dasanna2, Thomas John1
1Experimental Physics, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbruecken, Germany.
Abstract:
The erythrocyte sedimentation rate is one of the oldest medical diagnostic methods whose physical mechanisms remain debatable today. Using both light microscopy and mesoscale cell-level simulations, we show that erythrocytes form a soft-particle gel. Furthermore, the high volume fraction of erythrocytes, their deformability, and weak attraction lead to unusual properties of this gel. A theoretical model for the gravitational collapse is developed, whose predictions are in agreement with detailed macroscopic measurements of the interface velocity.
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