Computer-assisted rheological evaluation of microsamples of mucus

• Published in: Computer methods and programs in biomedicine Vol. 39; no. 1; pp. 51 - 60
• Main Authors: Silveira, Paulo Sérgio Panse, Böhm, György Miklós, Yang, Hyun Mo, Wen, Chao Lung, Guimarães, Eliane Tigre, Parada, Maria Angela Cavalheiro, King, Malcolm, Saldiva, Paulo Hilário Nascimento
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.09.1992; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Biological fluid; Bronchi; Computer-assisted rheological evaluation; Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted - standards; Elasticity; Evaluation Studies as Topic; Humans; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Linear Models; Magnetic microrheometer technique; Magnetics; Medical sciences; Microcomputers; Microsample of airway Mucus; Mucus - physiology; Observer Variation; Pathology. Cytology. Biochemistry. Spectrometry. Miscellaneous investigative techniques; Reproducibility of Results; Respiratory system; Rheologic property; Rheology; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; Software Validation; Viscoelastic property; Viscosity; Magnetic microrheometer technique; Rheologic property; Biological fluid; Viscoelastic property; Computer-assisted rheological evaluation; Microsample of airway Mucus; Viscoelasticity; Evaluation; Exploration; Mucus; Biophysics; Calculating method; Magnetic measurement; Respiratory tract; Biomedical data processing; Measurement method; Rheometer; Computer aid; Biomedical engineering; Rheological properties
• ISSN: 0169-2607; 1872-7565
• DOI: 10.1016/0169-2607(92)90058-F

Dynamic viscoelasticity measurements are required in many studies on biological fluids and they can be performed by determining the corresponding strain when a sinusoidal shear stress is applied to a sample. In several circumstances the amount of fluid that can be obtained for analysis in physiological conditions does not exceed microliters. In this context, the microrheometer technique is a useful approach to determine the dynamic rheological profile of the samples. However, the manual calculation of the desired parameters is tedious and time-consuming. This paper describes a menu-oriented program in order to facilitate its use by non-experts. The comparison between manual and computer-aided calculations demonstrated that the program reduced the time of measurement, and reduced intra- and interobserver variations. The program was developed on an IBM compatible PC in Microsoft C 5.1, and tested in a blind study to check the advantages in terms of time and reproducibility of the system verified by the concordance of two independent observers (interobserver influence) in two different occasions (intraobserver influence).