3F-1 Thrombelastography Using Acoustic Sensors

The purpose of the present paper is to show that thrombelastography can be carried out by means of a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) also known as a thickness shear mode resonator (TSM). A 9 MHz AT cut quartz was taken for the characterization of whole blood samples from healthy donors. To initiate fibrinolysis effects a special agent was used. The coagulation process was measured by monitoring the resonant frequency of the TSM. This frequency is affected by viscosity changes taking place during the coagulation process. The experimental setup was improved by covers made of PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) and PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane). These covers seal the electrode in the TSM which is in contact with the coagulating blood sample. The use of such covers allows deleterious environmental effects such as evaporation and drying of the sample to be avoided. The ability of TSM to produce thrombelastograms was successfully demonstrated. The use of such devices allows state of the art measurement setups to be greatly simplified. No complicated mechanical or moving parts must be produced nor is an optical detection unit needed. In addition, direct monitoring of the viscosity results in additional findings at the end of fibrinolysis curves