title: A Miniaturized Hemoretractometer for Blood Clot Retraction Testing.
abstract: Blood coagulation is a critical hemostatic process that must be properly regulated to maintain a delicate balance between bleeding and clotting. Disorders of blood coagulation can expose patients to the risk of either bleeding disorders or thrombotic diseases. Coagulation diagnostics using whole blood is very promising for assessing the complexity of the coagulation system and for global measurements of hemostasis. Despite the clinic values that existing whole blood coagulation tests have demonstrated, these systems have significant limitations that diminish their potential for point-of-care applications. Here, recent advancements in device miniaturization using functional soft materials are leveraged to develop a miniaturized clot retraction force assay device termed mHemoRetractoMeter (mHRM). The mHRM is capable of precise measurements of dynamic clot retraction forces in real time using minute amounts of whole blood. To further demonstrate the clinical utility of the mHRM, systematic studies are conducted using the mHRM to examine the effects of assay temperature, treatments of clotting agents, and pro- and anti-coagulant drugs on clot retraction force developments of whole blood samples. The mHRM's low fabrication cost, small size, and consumption of only minute amounts of blood samples make the technology promising as a point-of-care tool for future coagulation monitoring.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Zida
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.|Michigan Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Brendan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McCracken
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.|Michigan Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.|Michigan Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.|Department of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Jianping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fu
mesh_terms: D001777:Blood Coagulation / Q000502:physiology*; D001780:Blood Coagulation Tests / Q000379:methods*; D003018:Clot Retraction / Q000502:physiology*; D006487:Hemostasis; D006801:Humans; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems
keywords: blood coagulation; clot retraction; miniaturization; point-of-care testing