The Development of a Photon-Based Velocimeter to Study Transport Phenomena of Tumor Cells

School Name

Dutch Fork High School

Grade Level

12th Grade

Presentation Topic

Engineering

Presentation Type

Mentored

Mentor

Mentor: Guiren Wang, University of South Carolina

Abstract

Cancer research has thus far been largely confined to focus on molecular biology, specifically gene alterations within tumor cells, but researchers have recently adopted a new way of approaching this phenomenon: studying the role of fluid dynamics. Knowledge on blood flow dynamics, especially shear stress, is essential for understanding the growth, progression, and metastasis of cancer, commonly known as malignant cancer. Understanding the transport phenomena of circulating tumor cells and biomarkers in blood flow is crucial to greater understanding of the pathology of tumors in extravasation, which is the penetration of the blood vessel membrane by tumor cells as they leave, as well as optimizing pharmacology of future cancer treatment drugs, based on how drugs operate under certain flow velocity conditions. Blood flows at different velocities at different radial positions in a microcapillary tube, just as water does. However, the exact velocity profile of blood through a microcapillary is unknown. Currently, there are several methods of velocimetry on the micro-scale, but they cannot measure on such a small scale since the resolution is too weak. Current methods of velocimetry mostly use micro- and nano-particles as tracers (such as blood cells). However, this significantly reduces spatial resolution, so they cannot measure velocity profile within a blood capillary. Therefore, a velocimeter that can measure velocity profile in blood capillaries is needed.

Location

Wall 223

Start Date

3-25-2017 8:45 AM

Presentation Format

Oral and Written

Group Project

No

COinS
 
Mar 25th, 8:45 AM

The Development of a Photon-Based Velocimeter to Study Transport Phenomena of Tumor Cells

Wall 223

Cancer research has thus far been largely confined to focus on molecular biology, specifically gene alterations within tumor cells, but researchers have recently adopted a new way of approaching this phenomenon: studying the role of fluid dynamics. Knowledge on blood flow dynamics, especially shear stress, is essential for understanding the growth, progression, and metastasis of cancer, commonly known as malignant cancer. Understanding the transport phenomena of circulating tumor cells and biomarkers in blood flow is crucial to greater understanding of the pathology of tumors in extravasation, which is the penetration of the blood vessel membrane by tumor cells as they leave, as well as optimizing pharmacology of future cancer treatment drugs, based on how drugs operate under certain flow velocity conditions. Blood flows at different velocities at different radial positions in a microcapillary tube, just as water does. However, the exact velocity profile of blood through a microcapillary is unknown. Currently, there are several methods of velocimetry on the micro-scale, but they cannot measure on such a small scale since the resolution is too weak. Current methods of velocimetry mostly use micro- and nano-particles as tracers (such as blood cells). However, this significantly reduces spatial resolution, so they cannot measure velocity profile within a blood capillary. Therefore, a velocimeter that can measure velocity profile in blood capillaries is needed.