Development of blood mimicking fluid suspension using polymer particles

Surgical simulation has become a key tool in the training of surgeons and improving patient safety. Presently, surgeons rehearse surgeries on 3D-printed anatomical models that are patient-specific, and water is used to represent blood. Unlike water, blood is a shear thinning fluid. Hence, it makes the simulation less realistic, as it lacks tactile feedback. This experimental study aims to develop a blood mimicking fluid (BMF) with micro-sized polymer particles to enhance realistic tissue handling and blood flow for surgical simulations. The polymer particles are meant to represent red blood cells in human whole blood. A range of 5 wt% to 55 wt% of polymer particles were added into BMF composing of 85 vol% water, 15 vol% glycerol and 0.03 wt% xanthan gum. The viscosities of the BMF samples were then measured against a range of shear rates, from 0.1 s⁻¹ to 1000 s⁻¹. The viscosity measurements were carried out at 25 ℃, at 1 atm, which is at standard ambient temperature and pressure, similar to surgical simulation environment conditions. The viscosities of the BMF samples were validated using Power Law model and also compared with human whole blood. It was found that the asymptotic viscosity at high shear rates increases with the percentage of polymer particles. In spite of that, the BMF samples still portray shear-thinning properties.