Study of red cell aggregation in pulsatile flow from ultrasonic Doppler power measurements

Human red cell aggregability and disaggregability represent important hemorheological parameters of blood. Several techniques have been proposed to evaluate the tendency of red cells to form aggregates and to disrupt in the presence of shear stress. One of the most recent approaches is based on the characterization of the intensity of ultrasonic scattered signals. A pulsatile flow loop model is used in the present study to demonstrate the potential applicability of Doppler ultrasound to detect and characterize the hemodynamic behavior of red cell aggregates. Porcine whole blood specimens collected from 20 different pigs were circulated in the flow model (tube diameter of 0.476 cm) at different mean velocities and pulsation rates. At a pulsation of 70 beats/min for mean velocities of 13 cm/sec and 63 cm/sec, no cyclic variation of the Doppler power was observed, suggesting the absence of rouleaux build-up and rouleaux disruption. At a pulsation of 20 beats/min and mean velocities of 11 cm/sec and 38 cm/sec, statistically significant cyclic variations (p < 0.01) were measured. It is suggested that aggregate size enlargement, rouleaux orientation with the flow field and the effect of shear stress on rouleaux disruption are possible causes for the observed cyclic variation of the Doppler power within the flow cycle at a pulsation of 20 beats/min. A discussion of the potential application of this technique for in vivo study in large vessels is given.