Microfluidic devices with integrated resistive heater electrodes including systems and methods for controlling and measuring the temperatures of such heater electrodes
First Claim
1. A method for determining the temperature of each of a plurality of multiplexed heater electrodes, wherein the heater electrodes are part of a multiplex circuit sharing a common lead connecting the electrodes to a power supply, said method comprising the steps of:
- a. for each heater electrode in said plurality of multiplexed heater electrodes;
(1) connecting the power supply to a set of two or more other heater electrodes, and(2) measuring a voltage drop at said heater electrode, wherein the voltage drop is based on the equivalent resistance of a parallel combination of the set of said other heater electrodes in series with said heater electrode;
b. computing a resistance of each of the plurality of multiplexed heater electrodes by solving for the resistance of each heater electrode based at least in part on the measured voltage drops; and
c. deriving the temperature using a processor of each of the plurality of multiplexed heater electrodes from the computed resistance of each electrode.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention relates to methods and devices for control of an integrated thin-film device with a plurality of microfluidic channels. In one embodiment, a microfluidic device is provided that includes a microfluidic chip having a plurality of microfluidic channels and a plurality of multiplexed heater electrodes, wherein the heater electrodes are part of a multiplex circuit including a common lead connecting the heater electrodes to a power supply, each of the heater electrodes being associated with one of the microfluidic channels. The microfluidic device also includes a control system configured to regulate power applied to each heater electrode by varying a duty cycle, the control system being further configured to determine the temperature of each heater electrode by determining the resistance of each heater electrode.
66 Citations
5 Claims
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1. A method for determining the temperature of each of a plurality of multiplexed heater electrodes, wherein the heater electrodes are part of a multiplex circuit sharing a common lead connecting the electrodes to a power supply, said method comprising the steps of:
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a. for each heater electrode in said plurality of multiplexed heater electrodes; (1) connecting the power supply to a set of two or more other heater electrodes, and (2) measuring a voltage drop at said heater electrode, wherein the voltage drop is based on the equivalent resistance of a parallel combination of the set of said other heater electrodes in series with said heater electrode; b. computing a resistance of each of the plurality of multiplexed heater electrodes by solving for the resistance of each heater electrode based at least in part on the measured voltage drops; and c. deriving the temperature using a processor of each of the plurality of multiplexed heater electrodes from the computed resistance of each electrode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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Specification