IMECE2011-63840 DRAFT ESTIMATION OF ERYTHROCYTE DEFORMABILITY USING A VISCOELASTIC MODEL WITH TWO DEGREES OF FREEDOM

An erythrocyte is represented using a viscoelastic model with two degrees of freedom, where a spring was connected parallel to a dashpot to estimate quantitatively the dynamic de-formability. To identify such parameters as the elastic modulus and viscous damping coefficient of the model, erythrocytes were deformed using a periodical shear flow field. Displacement of the center of gravity ∆G and the deformation quantity of major axis ∆L were obtained from time series of images. In this pa-per, erythrocytes from a normal subjects were treated with glu-taraldehyde to create variations in hardness and deformability. Both of the data series are periodic on movement and deforma-tion of erythrocytes. Based on the experimental data, parameters of the viscoelastic model were identified. The estimation method of dynamic deformability of erythrocytes was examined