Lattice Boltzmann modelling of blood cell dynamics

Many diseases are a result of, or are associated with, abnormal blood flow. Usually, these abnormalities are caused by unhealthy red blood cells with modified shape which have difficulty traversing the microvessels. Unfortunately, experimental approaches to these problems are limited due to difficulties in isolating the critical determinants of flow in vivo or in vitro. Computer models overcome these problems, but most strive only to reproduce the macroscopic, continuum aspect of blood flow by making many simplifying assumptions. Unfortunately, these models cannot address the relationship between microscopic, cellular flow dynamics and macroscopic, bulk blood rheology. Here, we demonstrate the wide applicability of a novel, computational model for simulating blood flow that includes each blood cell explicitly. This fully 3D model accounts for cell membrane dynamics and reproduces rest shapes accurately. This model allows us to: (i) extract empirical relationships for use in macroscopic models and (ii) simulate various disease states to identify potential targets for therapy. We show here that the model accurately reproduces the well-documented flow relationships for healthy blood, and also predicts the abnormalities in blood rheology exhibited by malaria and sickle cell patients.