Abstract
Platelet function testing, which began more than a hundred years ago, is a time-consuming
and uncertain process. Simulating hemostasis and the blood vessel microenvironment
in vitro is challenging, which poses a difficulty for diagnosing platelet dysfunction
and mild von Willebrand disease (VWD). In an effort to simulate the rheological microenvironment
within blood vessels, several blood flow devices have been introduced since the 1980s.
These devices are capable of reproducing the shear rates found in arterioles and venules,
and of incorporating endothelial cell monolayers and surfaces with adsorbed platelet-adhesive
proteins. The authors will describe and review here the presently most well-known
blood flow devices. The technologies inherent in these devices offer a combination
of physiologic accuracy and small blood volume requirements in the evaluation of platelet
disorders and mild VWD (or “symptomatic low von Willebrand factor”) in flowing whole
blood, with the potential to individualize therapeutic options for and to achieve
greater diagnostic accuracy in mild platelet disorders and VWD.
Keywords
microfluidics - platelet aggregation - platelet function testing - von Willebrand
factor - von Willebrand disease
