How can shear stress be calculated for suspension cells in channel slides?

When putting a liquid through a channel, the friction at the walls will cause a flow profile that looks like a parabola. Flow velocity will be faster in the middle of the channel than at the walls. Shear stress only occurs at the walls of channels or tubes. Thus, only cells that are attached to the walls/bottom of a channel will experience shear stress. Suspension cells in the middle of a channel will experience a different flow rate than the cells floating near the channel walls. Therefore, shear rate is the relevant factor to consider for cells in suspension, not shear stress.

Please see the following review for more details: PMID: 15807389

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