Abstract
Using a clinical blood viscometer developed by the authors, the flow characteristics of blood were measured in the shear rate range of 100–10,000 s–1. Some factors which could cause measurement error were investigated and a pressure correction was introduced to characterize the measurement error tendency. From analysis and experiments using standard Newtonian liquids, it was confirmed that the measurement error tendency was characterized mainly by a pressure transducer error. In addition, it was verified that ±10% accuracy was attachable using a new calibration method in the entire shear rate range. Blood samples collected in a hospital were tested immediately and the non-Newtonian properties were evaluated by Casson parameters for purposes of comparison. It was shown that the flow characteristics measured in the present study are reasonable when compared with other works. It was also shown that blood viscosity decreased clearly with shear rate in the above shear rate range.
