Patent classifications
G01N15/1023
MEASURING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MEASURING CHARACTERISTICS OF CELLS
The invention relates to a measuring device (10) for measuring physical characteristics of cells. The device (10) comprises: a microfluidic chip (20) provided with a flow channel (22) for allowing cells to flow through; a manipulator (24) configured to apply deformation force to a cell in a continuous flow; and a sensor (26) configured to sense a physical characteristic of the cell. The manipulator (24) and the sensor (26) are configured to define a width (W2) of the flow channel (22) as a gap formed between them. The manipulator (24) is configured to apply the deformation force to the cell by compressing the cell against the sensor (26).
ACOUSTOFLUIDIC DEVICE CONFIGURED FOR ALLOWING RESONANCE FREQUENCY TRACKING AND METHODS THEREFOR
An acoustofluidic device is provided comprising a) a substrate, and b) an ultrasound transducer attached to, or in contact with, the substrate. The substrate and the ultrasound transducer combined have a first set of acoustic natural system resonances determined by the material and the dimensions of the substrate and ultrasound transducer. Each system resonance comprises a resonance frequency and a resonance quality factor. The device further comprises c) a microfluidic cavity provided in the substrate and containing a fluid, the cavity having a second set of acoustic natural cavity resonances, each having a resonance frequency and a resonance quality factor, determined by the dimensions of the cavity and the speed of sound in the fluid. The material and the dimensions of the substrate and ultrasound transducer are selected so that at least one individual cavity resonance has a resonance frequency corresponding to the frequency of a minimum in an impedance spectrum of the ultrasound transducer. Method of producing the acoustofluidic device, as well as method of tracking a resonance frequency and performing an acoustofluidic operation are also provided.
APPARATUS FOR MEASURING PROPERTIES OF PARTICLES IN A SOLUTION AND RELATED METHODS
The present technology relates to systems and associated methods for measuring properties of particles in a solution. In one or more embodiments, a particle measurement system is configured to generate a reference signal, communicate the reference signal across a plurality of resistors and overlapping pairs of electrodes that define detection regions for particulates traveling through a microchannel, and measure various properties of the particles based on detecting changes in the communicated reference signal.
Platforms and systems for automated cell culture
Disclosed herein are platforms, systems, and methods including a cell culture system that includes a cell culture container comprising a cell culture, the cell culture receiving input cells, a cell imaging subsystem configured to acquire images of the cell culture, a computing subsystem configured to perform a cell culture process on the cell culture according to the images acquired by the cell imaging subsystem, and a cell editing subsystem configured to edit the cell culture to produce output cell products according to the cell culture process.
Automated evaluation of sperm morphology
Systems and methods are provided for provided for automatic evaluation of sperm morphology. An image of a semen sample is obtained, and at least a portion of the image is provided to a convolutional neural network classifier. The convolutional neural network classifier evaluates the portion of the image to assign to the portion of the image a set of likelihoods that the portion of the image belongs to a plurality of output classes representing the morphology of sperm within the portion of the image. A metric is assigned to the semen sample based on the likelihoods assigned by the convolutional neural network.
Platforms and systems for automated cell culture
Disclosed herein are platforms, systems, and methods including a cell culture system that includes a cell culture container comprising a cell culture, the cell culture receiving input cells, a cell imaging subsystem configured to acquire images of the cell culture, a computing subsystem configured to perform a cell culture process on the cell culture according to the images acquired by the cell imaging subsystem, and a cell editing subsystem configured to edit the cell culture to produce output cell products according to the cell culture process.
Plasmofluidic microlenses for label-free optical sorting of bioparticles
An optofluidic device includes: a housing having an inlet port coupled to an inlet side and an outlet port coupled to an outlet side; and a microlens disposed within the housing between the inlet side and the outlet side. A fluid having a plurality of particles flows from the inlet side through the microlens to the outlet side. The optofluidic device further includes a light source configured to emit a light beam in a direction opposite flow direction of the fluid, the light beam defining an optical axis that is perpendicular to the microlens.
MEMS microparticle sensor
A MEMS sensing device for sensing microparticles in an environment external to the MEMS sensing device is provided. The MEMS sensing device comprises a semiconductor body integrating a sensor and a pump unit, the sensor including a sensor cavity, a membrane suspended over the sensor cavity, and a piezoelectric element over the membrane and configured to cause the membrane to oscillate, about an equilibrium position, at a corresponding resonance frequency when sensing electric signals are applied to the piezoelectric element during a first operative phase of the MEMS sensing device, the resonance frequency depending on an amount of microparticles located on the membrane, the membrane having a plurality of through holes for establishing a fluid communication between the sensor cavity and the environment; the pump is configured to cause air pressure in the sensor cavity to be reduced with respect to the air pressure of the environment during the first operative phase, so that microparticles are caused to adhere onto the membrane by a suction force through the plurality of through holes.
MULTI-POINT CAPACITIVE MOTION SENSING STRUCTURE
A capacitive probe structure is presented including two or more microfluidic channels defined within a plurality of dielectric layers disposed over a substrate, and a plurality of probes extending through the plurality of dielectric layers such that several probes of the plurality of probes extend to the two or more microfluidic channels to measure at least particle concentrations and particle flow within the two or more microfluidic channels. The plurality of probes are physically and electrically isolated from each other by the plurality of dielectric layers. The plurality of probes further measure a dielectric constant change for conducting and non-conducting liquids and gasses within the two or more microfluidic channels.
MICROFLUIDIC DEVICES WITH MULTIPLE INLETS AND OUTLETS
Techniques regarding nanofluidic chips with a plurality of inlets and/or outlets in fluid communication with one or more nanoDLD arrays are provided. For example, one or more embodiments described herein can comprise a nanoscale deterministic lateral displacement array between and in fluid communication with a global inlet and a global outlet. The nanoscale deterministic lateral displacement array can further be between and in fluid communication with a local inlet and a local outlet. Also, the nanoscale deterministic lateral displacement array can laterally displace a particle comprised within a sample fluid supplied from the global inlet to a collection region that directs the particle to the local outlet. An advantage of such an apparatus can be the expanded versatility of the nanoscale deterministic lateral displacement array for sample preparation applications involving nanoparticles not accessible to other higher throughput microscale microfluidic technologies.