Friday, April 17th, 2026
11:00am – 11:50pm
Stratton Hall 202
Speaker: Thomas Fai
Title: Multiscale model of red blood cell clogging in microfluidic devices
Abstract: Microfluidic devices that sort cells by their deformability hold significant promise for medical applications including low-cost diagnostics. However, clogging in these microfluidic systems may cause them to change behavior over time, potentially limiting their reliability. Here, we propose a coarse-grained theoretical model to capture the aging of microfluidic devices under different conditions including constant flow and constant pressure. We compare the predictions of the coarse-grained model to those of stochastic simulations and previous studies. Lastly, we apply the model to experimental data on the clogging of sickle red blood cells in a microfluidic cell-sorter and discuss its wider applicability.