title: Design and development of a rheometer for biological fluids of limited availability.
abstract: From studies on the dynamic characterization of human bones, it is noticed that reference data on the viscous behavior of the bone marrow are quite poor. Dependently from marrow limited availability and its opacity, we have not been able to retrieve a tool of appropriate characteristics able to measure bone marrow viscosity. Therefore, principal techniques for the viscosity measurement have been preliminarily examined, and a device suitable for viscosity measurements of biological fluids has been realized. In particular, a rotational rheometer has been developed: it is a coaxial cylinders system, where the fluid flows dragged by the inner cylinder. The device is an absolute rheometer, that is, particularly useful as nowadays it is not known the classification of the bone as far as it concerns its viscous behavior. In this work a preliminary evaluation of the metrological characteristics of the measurement system has been carried out and its main metrological performances have been evaluated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering, Roma TRE University, via della Vasca Navale 79/81, 00146 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scorza
authors.affiliation: Clinical Engineering Service, Religious General Hospital "F. Miulli," Acquaviva delle Fonti (BA), Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Battista
authors.affiliation: Unit of Measurements and Biomedical Instrumentation, Center for Integrated Research, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Via Alvaro del Portillo 21, 00128 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Silvestri
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering, Roma TRE University, via della Vasca Navale 79/81, 00146 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Sciuto
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012212:Rheology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012399:Rotation; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D014783:Viscosity