Microfluidic devices having a reduced number of input and output connections
First Claim
1. A microfluidic processing device, comprising:
- a substrate comprising one or more components selected from the group consisting of;
a thermally actuated pump, a thermally actuated valve, and a microfabricated reaction chamber, and further comprising a plurality of N independently controllable heating elements, each having at least two terminals, wherein each heating element is in thermal communication with one of the components;
a plurality of input/output contacts for connecting said substrate to an external controller, and aplurality of leads for connecting said contacts to said terminals wherein each said lead connects a corresponding contact to a plurality of terminals and wherein the terminals of each said heating element are connected to a unique combination of contacts, whereby the number of contacts required to independently control said N heating elements is substantially less than the total number of terminals without requiring a separate lead for each said terminal, and wherein said controller can thereby control each said heating element independently of each other heating element.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for reducing the number of input/output connections required to connect a microfluidic substrate to an external controller for controlling the substrate. In one example, a microfluidic processing device is fabricated on a substrate having a plurality of N independently controllable components, (e.g., a resistive heating elements) each having at least two terminals. The substrate includes a plurality of input/output contacts for connecting the substrate to an external controller, and a plurality of leads for connecting the contacts to the terminals of the components. The leads are arranged to allow the external controller to supply control signals to the terminals of the components via the contacts using substantially fewer contacts than the total number of component terminals. For example, in one embodiment, each lead connects a corresponding contact to a plurality of terminals to allow the controller to supply to signals to the terminals without requiring a separate contact for each terminal. However, to assure that the components can each be controlled independently of the others, the leads are also arranged so that each component'"'"'s terminals are connected to a unique combination of contacts. Thus, the external controller can activate a selected component by supplying control signals to the combination of contacts uniquely associated with that component.
308 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A microfluidic processing device, comprising:
-
a substrate comprising one or more components selected from the group consisting of;
a thermally actuated pump, a thermally actuated valve, and a microfabricated reaction chamber, and further comprising a plurality of N independently controllable heating elements, each having at least two terminals, wherein each heating element is in thermal communication with one of the components;a plurality of input/output contacts for connecting said substrate to an external controller, and a plurality of leads for connecting said contacts to said terminals wherein each said lead connects a corresponding contact to a plurality of terminals and wherein the terminals of each said heating element are connected to a unique combination of contacts, whereby the number of contacts required to independently control said N heating elements is substantially less than the total number of terminals without requiring a separate lead for each said terminal, and wherein said controller can thereby control each said heating element independently of each other heating element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification