CLINICAL BLOOD VISCOMETER

BLOOD VISCOSITY IS SIGNIFICANTLY ALTERED IN MANY DISEASES. BECAUSE EXISTING VISCOMETERS ARE EXPENSIVE, COMPLEX TO USE, AND DO NOT PROVIDE MEANINGFUL RESULTS EASILY INTERPRETED BY CLINICIANS, BLOOD VISCOSITY MEASURES ARE NOW RARELY USED CLINICALLY. THE POTENTIAL MARKET FOR AN INEXPENSIVE, CLINICALLY USEFUL BLOOD VISCOMETER IS LARGE. THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO PRODUCE AND MARKET SUCH A DEVICE, USING A PATENTED PRINCIPLE OF UNSTEADY STATE VISCOSITY DETERMINATION. IN A SINGLE RUN OF LESS THAN 60 SECONDS' DURATION, IT CAN PROVIDE VALUES OF VISCOSITY VERSUS SHEAR RATE OVER PHYSIOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT SHEAR RATE RANGES OF UP TO 100:1. A MICROCOMPUTER FITS THE DATA TO SUITABLE RHEOLOGICAL MODELS, PROVIDING CLINICALLY RELEVANT PARAMETERS. DURING PHASE I THE GOALS ARE TO REDESIGN THE EXISTING PROTOTYPE, IN ORDER TO SIMPLIFY THE DESIGN AND REDUCE COSTS OF BOTH THE MEASUREMENT AND ANALYSIS SYSTEMS, INCORPORATING INEXPENSIVE, DISPOSABLE COMPONENTS. THE DESIGN WILL BE THE BASIS FOR PHASE II, WHICH WILL INVOLVE SELECTION AND BUILDING OF ACTUAL COMPONENTS, TESTING AND DETERMINING COSTS OF THE ENTIRE SYSTEM, AND DEMONSTRATING CLINICAL FEASIBILITY AND UTILITY.