Oxygen diffusion in blood: a translational model of shear-induced augmentation

Possible models of shear-induced augmentation of oxygen transfer in laminar blood flow are discussed and evaluated in the light of recently published experimental results [1]. A new transfer augmentation model is presented which evaluates the effect of microscopic translational motions of the red blood cells back and forth across the flow streamlines. The results of this model appear to be consistent with the experimentally measured diffusion augmentation.