Two past research works related to the workshop topic can be briefly recalled: i) Flow and deformation of red blood cells in narrow channels, analysed by means of the occupied pore change of electrical resistivity. A device named Cell Transit Analyser (CTA) was used. The height and length of electrical pulses were related to the cell deformed shape in the pore and to its velocity. The influence of the flow strength, suspending medium viscosity and cell membrane elasticity was studied. [1] ii) The design and experimental characterization of a Hele-Shaw cell with a porous bottom wall in order to study the influence of flow induced forces (shear stress and transmural pressure) on cells adhering on porous biomaterials. Theoretical predictions for the flow in the chamber were provided and allowed to quantify the flow forces. [2] A short bibliographic overview of more recent studies in the same research area and of their biomedical applications can be also presented: i) flow rate or velocity calibrations with microparticles in microchannels, cell mechanics studies (change of mechanical properties of cells, effect of drugs, cell sorting, …), white blood cells deformation and transport in capillaries, vascularization and microcirculation in reconstructed tissues and organoïds, … ii) improvement of biomaterials for dialysis and blood filtration process, in vitro studies of white blood cells and cancer cells diapedesis, mechanotransduction studies with endothelial cells or other cells, test of biomaterials for the functional vascular grafts production, … Artificial microfluidic circuits may also be used to improve cell culture, proliferation and attachment (for example, stem cells cultivation and differentiation for artificial tissue production), or, on the contrary, to improve hydrodynamic dissociation of cell aggregates and tissues. Other applications of microfluidic devices are found in the context of space research and astronauts health (study of blood flow under microgravity conditions), … In any cases, the control of cells’ microenvironment and of the applied forces remains a challenge. References [1] Drochon, A. (2005) “Use of Cell Transit Analyser pulse height to study the deformation of erythrocytes in microchannels” Medical Engineering and Physics, Vol 27(2), 157-165. [2] Chotard-Ghodsnia, R., Drochon, A., Grebe, R. (2002) “A new flow chamber for the study of shear stress and transmural pressure upon cells adhering to a porous biomaterial” Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, Vol 124 (2), 258-261.