Investigating the Kinetics of Blood Coagulation using Ultrasound

Abstract

The study of blood coagulation can provide provide useful prognostic and diagnostic information for a range of diseases. Coagulation of whole mouse blood was monitored via a high-frequency ultrasound system with a central frequency of 80 MHz. Simultaneous acquisition of M-mode images and of reflected frequency spectra from signals propagated through the sample provided information on the motion of red blood cells and acoustic attenuation, respectively.This work aimed (i) to show the benefit of simultaneous acquisition of reflection spectra and M-mode data as blood coagulations, and (ii) to highlight the advantages of using high frequencies (> 60 MHz) in identifying features associated with blood coagulation which aren’t visible at lower frequencies.