A nano communication system for CTC detection in blood vessels

Abstract

In this paper, we show a simulation scenario of a short section of a blood vessel, in which white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets move as a consequence of collisions and the Hagen–Poiseuille law. In addition to these cells, we have considered also the presence of circulating tumor cells (CTC) and of a receiver node that is able to detect the presence of CTC by using its surface receptors which are affine to the ligands present on the CTC surface. This study aims at identifying potential optimal positions of CTC sensors within blood vessels in order to maximize the probability of a successful detection. A simulation campaign has been performed by the BiNS2 simulation framework for several distances of the receiver node from the vessel axis. Obtained results show that CTCs tend to move towards the endothelium.