Effects of Pulsed Magnetic Field on the Flowing Red Blood Cells Using Microvascular Model

It is known that red blood cells (RBCs) aggregation would significantly impede the blood flow and increase the vascular flow resistance contributing to peripheral vascular diseases. For many years, the use of pulsed magnetic field (PMF) was proposed as an alternative non-invasive medical treatment for influencing human physiology, via inducing electric current in deep tissue with the rapidly changing field of the magnetic impulses. Since various cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and thrombosis are also highly correlated to RBC aggregation, many researches concerning the effects of magnetic field on biological systems, especially, on the blood circulation were done. [1] However, the exact physiological role of disaggregation and mobility of RBCs in the blood microcirculatory network has not been clearly elucidated yet. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of PMF on the changes of blood flow in the microvascular model, simulated the human capillary. Since the capillaries represent the major site of oxygen delivery from RBCs to tissues, it is very important to know the velocity of blood flow of RBCs, blood viscosity, and shear rate in microvascular model for the microcirculation system. In addition, it is necessary to explore how the magnetic field affects hemorheology of RBCs.