Philadelphia. Researchers may be able to measure the viscosity, or thickness, of unadulterated human blood accurately for the first time using a hemometer, a device created by a research team led by Philadelphia research cardiologist Kenneth Kensey, MD.

Initially, only pharmaceutical and medical researchers will use the device until a normal range for viscosity is determined, Kensey said. High blood viscosity is a common denominator in heart problems, but measurement has been cumbersome and inaccurate in the past, he said.

Instruments commonly used to measure the viscosity of blood are limited, said Young Cho, Ph.D., a Drexel University professor of mechanical engineering. Conventional viscometers do not generate useful data for low-pressure and low-velocity conditions, Cho added.

Kensey anticipates that the device will eventually be a part of routine health care, similar to taking blood pressure. It will likely be on the market within five years, he said.

"It will allow health care practitioners to predict the chances of heart attack, stroke and arteriosclerosis," Kensey said. "The simple machine will take three cc’s of blood through an IV stick. Results will be available within four minutes."

Kensey and Cho are co-authors of an article about the hemometer in the August issue of the Review of Scientific Instruments.

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