Surface acoustic wave resonators as novel tools for multiparametric blood analysis

In this paper a new tool to assess viscoelastic and dielectric properties of human fluids is presented. Shear horizontal polarized surface acoustic waves (SH-SAW) are used to detect the viscoelastic properties of coagulating blood and blood plasma samples. One-port SAW resonators, with fundamental modes of 85, 170 und 340 MHz were developed. Additionally, their electrode structures can be used simultaneously to detect the dielectric behavior of the whole system by impedance spectroscopy while the frequency ranges from kHz to MHz. The combination of both methods offers the detection of clinical relevant blood parameters like the blood coagulation time and the hematocrit value within one measurement.