Tracking the dynamics of thrombus formation in a blood vessel on a chip
October 2023
University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands
The dynamics of thrombus formation are essential for a deeper understanding of many disease processes, such as haemorrhage, wound healing and thrombosis. However, monitoring thrombus formation is challenging due to the limited imaging capabilities available for analysing flowing blood. Here, a visible light optical coherence tomography (vis-OCT) system was used to monitor the dynamic process of thrombus formation in a microfluidic blood vessel on a chip (VoC). Inside the VoC, thrombi formed in a channel lined with a monolayer of endothelial cells and perfused with human whole blood. It was shown that the correlation of the vis-OCT signal can be used as a marker for thrombus formation. The correlation during thrombus formation was adjusted to a threshold so that thrombus growth could be tracked and quantified over time. The results were validated with fluorescence microscopy images of fibrin and platelet markers at the end of the blood perfusion test. The technique presented here for monitoring thrombus formation can also be used in other procedures, such as the examination of flowing human whole blood.
The technique enables multidimensional observation of thrombus formation and can thus lead to a better understanding of coagulation disorders and other vascular diseases.
Tracking the dynamics of thrombus formation in a blood vessel-on-chip with visible-light optical coherence tomography
Carlos Cuartas-Vélez
Added on: 02-05-2024
[1] https://opg.optica.org/boe/fulltext.cfm?uri=boe-14-11-5642&id=540667
