Laser Doppler anemometry on individual red blood cells

Abstract

In order to take measurements of electrical and mechanical characteristics on red blood cells in motion in a hydrodynamic or electric field, a micro laser doppler anemometry apparatus was developed. Because of the small dimensions of the scattering volume of this apparatus, measurements can be taken on individual cells. Two fields of measurement were studied: that of red blood cells in free motion in a hydrodynamic field (speeds of a few mm/s), an that of very low speeds (a few μm/s) the cells moving in a hydrodynamic or an electric field. We can thus obtain simultaneously for each red blood cell: the apparent dimension, the speed, the electrical charge. This methodology gives us multiparametric statistics on individual characteristics of a population or red blood cells.