Mathematical and mechanical modeling of vaso-occlusion in sickle cell disease

Vaso-occlusive crises cause most of the morbidity and mortality associated with sickle cell disease. The proximal causes of these occlusive events are not well understood. The risks and consequences of vaso-occlusion however are clear. Ten percent of sickle cell disease patients will have a stroke by the age of 20. Two thirds of sickle cell disease patients require more than one hospitalization per year for treatment of pain crises. The flow behavior of blood samples from sickle cell patients was studied in an artificial microfluidic environment. This microfluidic environment allowed modulation of the hydrostatic pressure causing flow, the ambient oxygen concentration, and the vascular channel geometry. A range of blood samples was evaluated by selecting specimens with various hematocrits and concentrations of sickle hemoglobin. Velocity profiles were calculated following sudden changes in oxygen concentration. From these profiles, it was possible to create a phase space of vaso-occlusion in the artificial microfluidic environment. This phase space characterizes the environmental conditions in which sickle cell blood will stop flowing within a given interval of time.

Department dc:contributor.department

Harvard University--MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Higgins, John M. (John Matthew)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• L. Mahadevan.

• Harvard University--MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/38660

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/38660