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Physiological Significance of Cell-Free Layer and Experimental Determination of its Width in Microcirculatory Vessels

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Book cover Visualization and Simulation of Complex Flows in Biomedical Engineering

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computational Vision and Biomechanics ((LNCVB,volume 12))

Abstract

Formation of a cell-free layer (CFL) adjacent to the luminal surface of microvessels is a consequence of axial migration of red blood cells (RBCs) towards the flow centerline. The CFL formation is a prominent hemodynamic feature in the microcirculation and thus it can be a dynamic indicator for alteration of the microcirculatory system. Consequently, its dynamic characteristics (mean width and spatio-temporal variations) are important factors to better understand the microcirculatory functions under physiological and pathophysiological conditions. The CFL is known to play a lubricating role by reducing the friction between RBC core and vessel wall. As a result, a thicker CFL may attenuate wall shear stress by reducing the effective viscosity of blood which in turn leads to lower nitric oxide (NO) production by the endothelium, in particular in small arterioles. In addition, the CFL can be a diffusion barrier to NO scavenging by RBCs as well as oxygen delivery from the cells to tissue in the arterioles. Thus, due to the importance of the CFL formation in the microcirculation, there have been many attempts to experimentally quantify the CFL width in microcirculatory vessels. In this chapter, we will review currently available techniques for the CFL width measurements in microsystems and discuss about their limitations. For more detailed quantification on the spatio-temporal variations of the CFL, recently developed computer-based methods will be introduced.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by NUS FRC 397-000-134-112. The authors wish to thank Dr. Alvin Koh for his valuable discussion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Block EA #03-12, Singapore, 117576, Singapore

    Bumseok Namgung, Leo Hwa Liang & Sangho Kim

  2. Department of Surgery, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Sangho Kim

Authors
  1. Bumseok Namgung
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  2. Leo Hwa Liang
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  3. Sangho Kim
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Correspondence to Sangho Kim .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. CEFT, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), ESTiG, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Bragança, Porto, Portugal

    Rui Lima

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering and Robotics Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

    Yohsuke Imai

  3. Department of Bioengineering and Robotics, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

    Takuji Ishikawa

  4. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Strathclyde, James Weir Fluids Lab, Glasgow, United Kingdom

    Mónica S. N. Oliveira

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Namgung, B., Liang, L.H., Kim, S. (2014). Physiological Significance of Cell-Free Layer and Experimental Determination of its Width in Microcirculatory Vessels. In: Lima, R., Imai, Y., Ishikawa, T., Oliveira, M. (eds) Visualization and Simulation of Complex Flows in Biomedical Engineering. Lecture Notes in Computational Vision and Biomechanics, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7769-9_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7769-9_4

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  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-7769-9

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