Development of a Microfluidic Viscometer for Non-Newtonian Blood Analog Fluid Analysis

The incidence of stroke is on the rise globally. This affects one in every four individuals each year, underscoring the urgent need for early warning and prevention systems. The existing research highlights the significance of monitoring blood viscosity in stroke risk evaluations. However, the current methods lack the precision to measure viscosity under low shear rate conditions (<100 s⁻¹), which are observed during pulsatility flow. This study addresses this gap by introducing a novel microfluidic platform designed to measure blood viscosity with high precision under pulsatility flow conditions. The systolic blood viscosity (SBV) and diastolic blood viscosity (DBV) can be differentiated and evaluated by using this system. The non-Newtonian behavior of blood is captured across specific shear rate conditions. The platform employs a meticulously designed microarray to simulate the variations in blood viscosity during pulsation within blood vessels.The results demonstrate an impressive accuracy of 95% and excellent reproducibility when compared to traditional viscometers and rheometers and are within the human blood viscosity range of 1-10 cP. This monitoring system holds promise as a valuable addition to stroke risk evaluation methods, with the potential to enhance prediction accuracy.