Impedance Based Feedback Control of Microfluidic Valves

Unmet Need
Droplet microfluidics is a growing field due to its potential to create high throughput assays while reducing reagent consumption in the process. The technology creates small droplets within fluid channels to generate biological assays. Frequently, these assays require an injection step so as to merge a reagent with the droplet at the correct time. Typically, microfluidic devices with pre-designed geometries for injection are used to perform this task. However, the lack of feedback of this system limits its robustness when used for extended operating times

Technology Overview
The proposed technology is a novel system of impedance feedback control that can reliably inject droplets at any location in a microfluidic. This generates the potential for spatially indexed assays in a single microfluidic platform. This eliminates varied droplet travel time, an issue that makes most conventional microfluidic devices unreliable. This also allows for manual user control, improving the efficacy and output of the technology.

Stage of Development
A prototype has been developed.
 

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