The motion of red blood cells through capillary bifurcations
Lead Research Organisation:
University of East Anglia
Department Name: Mathematics
Abstract
We will perform a study of the motion of an elastic capsule through a branching tube as a model of a red blood cell passing through a bifurcation in the human capillary system. We will start with a two-dimensional model of a single fluid-filled elastic capsule passing through a channel with aside-branch and use the boundary integral method (BIM) to study the passage and deformation of the cell under a variety of flow conditions. Next, we will develop a realistic three-dimensional modelof an axisymmetric red blood cell moving through a straight or curved bifurcating pipe, and incorporate a realistic description of the biomechanics of the red blood cell membrane. The BIM will again be used to compute the stresses and bending moments developing in the cell and the deformation of the membrane during transit through the bifurcation. The method will be extended to deal with multiple cells to yield predictions of the cell volume fraction in the daughter branches, to allow assessment of cellaggregation, and to provide predictions of the effective blood viscosity. The results will provide much needed deeper insight into the workings of the human microcirculation which will help combatdisease and will aid in the development of synthetic blood substitutes..
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Mark Blyth (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
WOOLFENDEN H
(2011)
Motion of a two-dimensional elastic capsule in a branching channel flow
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
| Description | We have performed a study of the motion of an elastic capsule through a branching channel as a model of a red blood cell passing through a bifurcation in the human capillary system. The work also has applications in microfluidic channels and other branching tube networkds. The two-dimensional calculations in the branching channel were intended as a point of departure leading toward a more realistic set of calculations of an elastic capsule moving in a three-dimensional flow through a branching tube. We used the boundary integral method (BIM) to study the passage and deformation of the cell under a variety of flow conditions. Intensive computations were undertaken to consider the effect of the exit flux ratio, the branching angle, the capsule size, and the elastic properties of the capsule membrane in determining the route taken by the capsule through the channel. For example, the factors determining whether the capsule remained in the main part of the channel or else was drawn down into the branch were investigated thoroughly. It was discovered that the route taken by a capsule can depend crucially on its elastic properties: capsules with different membrane stiffnesses, for example, may follow different routes under otherwise identical flow conditions. Next, we developed a realistic three-dimensional model of a red blood cell obeying a realistic elastic constitutive model moving through a branching tube. A complete computer code was written to solve for the motion of the capsule, which was in the validation stage at the end of the project. |
| Exploitation Route | The work is of relevance to industrial processes including particle segregation and sorting (e.g. in the pharmaceutical industry). One future goal is the creation of synthetic blood products, including artificial red blood cells which need to have similar dynamic behaviour to real cells. |
| Sectors | Healthcare |
| Description | The research has been used (and cited) by other workers in the area (biomechanics). |
| First Year Of Impact | 2012 |
| Sector | Education |