On the use of photoacoustics to detect red blood cell aggregation

The feasibility of detecting red blood cell (RBC) aggregation with photoacoustics (PAs) was investigated theoretically and experimentally using human and porcine RBCs. The theoretical PA signals and spectra generated from such samples were examined for several hematocrit levels and aggregates sizes. The effect of a finite transducer bandwidth on the received PA signal was also examined. The simulation results suggest that the dominant frequency of the PA signals from non-aggregated RBCs decreases towards clinical frequency ranges as the aggregate size increases. The experimentally measured mean spectral power increased by ~6 dB for the largest aggregate compared to the non-aggregated samples. Such results confirm the theoretical predictions and illustrate the potential of using PA imaging for detecting RBC aggregation.