A particle method for blood flow simulation: application to flowing red blood cells and platelets

A new computer simulation using a particle method was proposed to analyze the microscopic behavior of blood flow. A simulation region, including plasma, red blood cells (RBCs) and platelets, was modeled by an assembly of discrete particles. The proposed method was applied to the motions and deformations of a single RBC and multiple RBCs, and the thrombogenesis caused by platelet aggregation. It is expected that, combined with a sophisticated large-scale computational technique, the simulation method will be useful for understanding the overall properties of blood flow from blood cellular level (microscopic) to the resulting rheological properties of blood as a mass (macroscopic)