MULTI-SHAPE ERYTHROCYTE IMAGING AND THEIR DEFORMABILITY ANALYSIS IN A MICROFLUIDIC ENVIRONMENT

In their long journey through the cardiovascular circuit, erythrocytes are coerced to shape transform and assume different shapes on account of varying flow conditions in different blood vessels. The present work was aimed to visualize these erythrocyte shape transformations by an invitro microcirculatory model, and assess multi-shape erythrocyte deformability. The model uses an in-house fabricated, inexpensive disposable micro flow channel to mimic certain invivo conditions and a fast frame video microscopic system for imaging the shape changes in erythrocytes. Results show the multi-shape transformation of erythrocyte christened as discoidal shape, the asymmetrically deformed 'hat' and 'bullet-like' shapes, and the axially deformed 'slipper' and 'spindle-like' shapes. Specific erythrocyte showed the shape transition and transformation while passing through the observed window. The obtained erythrocyte shapes very analyzed for deformability index using image processing techniques that varied significantly (p <0.001) for different shapes as compared with the resting shape.