Hematocrit measurement by dielectric spectroscopy

A new method to measure hematocrit (HTC) in extra-corporeal blood systems is presented based on permittivity changes. Human blood samples were tested at different hematocrit levels pairing the values of permittivity (obtained with a commercial impedance analyzer) with the traditional centrifugation results. The comparison yielded a high correlation (R=0.98) while theoretical simplifications suggest that the method is independent of possible changes in the conductivities of the intra- and extra-cellular compartments.