| Abstract: | The feasibility of characterization of human blood fibrinogen levels using optical coherence tomography (OCT) was investigated. Three groups of blood samples were reconstituted of red blood cells: 1) phosphate-buffered saline; 2) plasma with its intrinsic fibrinogen removed and commercial fibrinogen added; and 3) native plasma with various fibrinogen levels (0-12?g/L). OCT signal slope (OCTSS) of blood was extracted from OCT depth-reflectivity profiles. Effects of hematocrit (HCT) and blood flow on OCTSS of the blood under various fibrinogen concentrations were also studied. The results of blood flowing at 5?mm/s showed that OCTSS of all the three groups at HCT of 40% decreases with the increasing fibrinogen concentration up to a certain level, i. e., >8, 6, and 4?g/L for groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The blood of group 2 at HCTs of 30%, 40%, and 50% had a rapid decrease in OCTSS in the range of fibrinogen concentration of 0-2, 0-6, and 0-10?g/L, respectively. OCTSS value of blood flowing at 2.5?mm/s was lower than that at 5?mm/s at each fibrinogen concentration. In conclusion, OCTSS has a strong correlation with plasma fibrinogen concentration, and has the potential to identify the abnormal level of human blood fibrinogen. |
