Influence of low-frequency vibrations on blood flow improvement in human’s limbs

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Venslauskas, Mantas^{a; *} | Ostasevicius, Vytautas^a | Vilkinis, Paulius^b

Affiliations: [a] Institute of Mechatronics, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentu str. 56, LT-51424 Kaunas, Lithuania. E-mails: mantas.venslauskas@ktu.lt, vytautas.ostasevicius@ktu.lt | [b] Laboratory of heat equipment research and testing, Lithuanian Energy Institute, Breslaujos str. 3, LT-44403, Kaunas, Lithuania. E-mail: paulius.vilkinis@lei.lt

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author. E-mail: mantas.venslauskas@ktu.lt.

Abstract: The fundamental cause of diabetic limbs’ problem is insufficient blood supply. The aim of the current work was to experimentally and numerically investigate the blood flow velocity and pressure changes in the channel during vibrational excitation. The micro-scale Particle Image Velocimetry (μPIV) technique as well as corresponding numerical channel model in COMSOL Multiphysics software were used to investigate the influence of external vibrations. Momentum upstream flow were noted on the fluid that was influenced by vibrations. Furthermore, momentum flow velocity increased by more than 3 times in both experimentally and theoretically. These results show that suggested novel low-frequency vibrational excitation method should be investigated in clinical studies in case of improvement of blood circulation in human limbs.

Keywords: Vibrational exposure, capillaries, blood flow improvement, diabetes mellitus

DOI: 10.3233/BME-171661

Journal: Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 117-130, 2017