Activating Blood Platelets with an Optical Pulse

Description

Blood platelets are cells that provide hemostasis, stopping blood flow and thus ensuring that blood will not leak through any small damage of the blood vessel that might occur. The hemostatic reaction starts with platelet activation, triggered when the platelets sense stimuli endemic to the environment outside of the blood vessel. The study of platelet activation is important, as this process plays a significant role in many pathological conditions. 

Subject

In work published this year, the authors introduced an optical method that can provide a superior insight into the dynamics of platelet activation.