Computer assisted analysis of leukocyte rheological behavior in microvasculature.

A new approach called Time-Space Scheme has been recommended for measuring the velocity of moving blood cells in the microvasculature. In each sampling time, the data are put into a row, then rows are integrated in sequential times as sequential rows. The motion of various objects in the field of microcirculation can be analyzed from the time-space image. In the time-space image RBC's flow appears as a diagonal dark stripe and WBC's flow as a bright stripe. The slope at different points on those stripes reflects the local velocity of RBCs and WBCs. Using the time-space image analyzing method, the velocities of erythrocyte and leukocyte in microcirculation are measured simultaneously by a self-designed interactive image processing system. According to characteristic of leukocyte flowing movement, leukocytes in microvasculature are divided into the three kinds: central axial-flowing leukocyte, rolling leukocyte and adhesive leukocyte. On this basis, we introduce the leukocyte-endothelium contact time as a quantitative index for leukocyte-endothelium interaction. During hemorrhagic shock, the phenomenon of leukocyte-endothelium adhesion has been observed by this system, which suggests that the method is effective and useful for the research of microcirculation.