A non-invasive method for the assessment of hemostasis in vivo by using dynamic light scattering

We present a new non-invasive method for assessing hemostasis in vivo. This method is based on the analysis of the movement characteristics of red blood cells (RBCs) during blood stasis condition. Stasis is intermittently induced by occlusion of arterial blood flow at the finger root. We assumed that under zero flow conditions, RBC movement is driven mostly by Brownian motion, and we characterized the RBC movement by utilizing the dynamic light scattering (DLS) technique in vivo. We found that during the stasis the RBCs diffusion coefficient in plasma decreases. We speculate that the RBC diffusion coefficient is most strongly related to endothelial and hemostatic activity. This assumption is supported by our findings that RBC movement, being expressed through the characteristics of the measured DLS signal, is correlative to the biological age and also is related to the coagulation factors. This new method can serve as a new diagnostic and research tool for the assessment of hemostasis and vascular function.