Characterization of Blood Flow Field in Microcirculation Using Highly Accurate PTV Technique

Abstract

Since endothelial cells are subject to flow shear-stress, it is important to determine the fine velocity distribution in microvessels for studies of mechanical interactions between blood and endothelium. Recently, particle image velocimetry (PIV) is a quantitative method of measuring velocity fields instantaneously in experimental fluid mechanics. The authors have been developed a high-resolution PIV technique, which can improve the dynamic range, spatial resolution and measurement accuracy, and applied it to visualized images in a blood flow.
In this paper, the proposed method is applied to visualized images in micro tube using an intravital-microscope and high-speed digital video system in order to assess measurement accuracy. The obtained velocity profile corresponds to a theoretical value. Then the micro PIV system is applied to a blood flow of straight tube in rat mesentery arterioles.