Optical and rheological parameters of blood and their application to cardiovascular diseases

As haemorheological factors such as erythrocyte deformability and blood viscosity are important in maintaining normal blood circulation, these parameters were measured by Hemorheometer and Cone-Plate Microviscometer respectively. He-Ne laser light and photodiode detector assembly was used to study the optical characteristics of blood samples from normal individuals and patients with various diseases. Both rheological and optical parameters were found to vary depending on the status of the blood samples. An increasing trend in these parameters, except optical transmission which decreased in disease status, was observed. The attenuation coefficient, derived from optical data, showed an increasing trend in disease status as compared to normal blood. Attenuation coefficient shows a high correlation with both erythrocyte deformability and blood viscosity. These observation suggests that the variation of optical parameter can provide overall information on the status of blood in health and diseases.