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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Microrheology of erythrocytes and platelets: physiological basis and consequences for the design and the operation of extracorporeal circulatory devices

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Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the physiological basis and consequences for the design and the operation of extracorporeal circulatory devices. The microrheological response of erythrocytes and thrombocytes can be observed microscopically under simplified flow conditions in the rheoscope. In this device, cells are observed at high magnifications while being subjected to quantifiable shear stresses. Despite the unphysiological environment, the use of this method allowed an important extrapolation to well-established in vivo flow properties and a clear distinction between the primarily passive microrheological properties of the erythrocytes and the microrheological features of thrombocytes. The latter depend on both the active and passive responses. Both types of cells are highly specialized and their microrheological properties have developed with the requirements of the vertebrate circulation and metabolism. These properties, however, are not only the consequence of a phylogenetic, but also of a day-by-day mechanical selection. The membrane rotation and intracellular mixing greatly facilitate the gas transfer by imposing convectional transport of dissolved O2 and O2-hemoglobin upon purely diffusive transport.