Ultrasonic air-coupled capacitive arrays

A model is developed which is capable of predicting the pressure field of a rectangular source, as measured by a finite-sized receiver. This novel method treats the problem in a new way, which allows an integration to be performed over the area of the receiver. Previously it has only been possible to model two circular transducers coaxially aligned. The model is used to identify a receiver, which can be used to measure the highly focussed pressure field from a phased array, with only a negligible effect due to the receiver size. Productions from the model are compared to experimental data, and show a good correlation. A parabolic mirror used to focus the field from a circular device in air has been studied, and a model developed to predict the pressure field produced by this device. This is done by an approximation of the mirror surface to a grid of finely spaced points. The model correlates well with measured results. In addition, an image of a defect in a solid sample was produced. Arrays are then used to image solid samples in air. This is done using three techniques. The first is a combined phased source and receiver, which is shown to locate a wire accurately and to measure a step in the surface of a sample. A 2-D array is shown to image a defect in a composite plate, and the potential for a fast through-transmission air-coupled system is indicated. In addition, two post-processing techniques are used on data recorded using an array receiver, to locate an object in air. Of these two techniques, ellipse crossing is shown to have better results for large signal to noise ratios, and SAFT for lower ratios. The combination of theoretical modelling and experimental observations has indicated that the transducers and arrays constructed for use in air are well-understood, and that their characteristics can be predicted

Strategies for single particle manipulation using acoustic radiation forces and external tools

AbstractThe use of primary acoustic radiation forces has been shown to be a valid technique for the handling of micron sized suspended particles, such as beads or biological cells. These forces arise as a nonlinear effect when an acoustic wave or vibration, which is set up in the fluid by exciting to resonance the system containing the suspension, interacts with the particles. The typical frequencies (upper kHz - lower MHz range) and the periodicity (in the range of hundreds of micrometers) of the acoustic field make this technique particularly suited for the handling of particles within microfluidic systems.A variety of devices for separation, fractionation, trapping and positioning of beads or biological cells, working both in batch or fluid flow mode, have been proposed. With the exception of the ports used to inject or remove the sample or the carrier medium, these systems can be considered as closed systems. Nevertheless, access to the particles with external tools is sometimes needed after acoustic manipulation has been performed. For instance, particles or cells pre-positioned in a sequence along the centerline of a channel using acoustic radiation forces need to be removed from it using a microgripper for further handling. Furthermore, in the field of crystallography research protein crystals have to be placed one by one onto a nylon loop prior to X-ray analysis with synchrotron radiation. This is usually done using the loop to pick up the crystal from the solution where it has been growing with other ones. As this process is sometimes repeated for a large number of crystals there are efforts to automate it. To this purpose it would be advantageous to bring the crystals spatially separated into a known position where they than can be sequentially collected with the loop.Here strategies for single particle manipulation are presented combining the effects of acoustic fields, fluid flow, surface tension and external tools. They are discussed by means of numerical results from FE-simulations of both two and three dimensional models as well as corresponding experiments

Planar microfluidics - liquid handling without walls

The miniaturization and integration of electronic circuitry has not only made the enormous increase in performance of semiconductor devices possible but also spawned a myriad of new products and applications ranging from a cellular phone to a personal computer. Similarly, the miniaturization and integration of chemical and biological processes will revolutionize life sciences. Drug design and diagnostics in the genomic era require reliable and cost effective high throughput technologies which can be integrated and allow for a massive parallelization. Microfluidics is the core technology to realize such miniaturized laboratories with feature sizes on a submillimeter scale. Here, we report on a novel microfluidic technology meeting the basic requirements for a microfluidic processor analogous to those of its electronic counterpart: Cost effective production, modular design, high speed, scalability and programmability

Renal malformations associated with mutations of developmental genes: messages from the clinic

Renal tract malformations (RTMs) account for about 40% of children with end-stage renal failure. RTMs can be caused by mutations of genes normally active in the developing kidney and lower renal tract. Moreover, some RTMs occur in the context of multi-organ malformation syndromes. For these reasons, and because genetic testing is becoming more widely available, pediatric nephrologists should work closely with clinical geneticists to make genetic diagnoses in children with RTMs, followed by appropriate family counseling. Here we highlight families with renal cysts and diabetes, renal coloboma and Fraser syndromes, and a child with microdeletion of chromosome 19q who had a rare combination of malformations. Such diagnoses provide families with often long-sought answers to the question “why was our child born with kidney disease”. Precise genetic diagnoses will also help to define cohorts of children with RTMs for long-term clinical outcome studies

Continuous Focusing of Microparticles in Horizontally Actuated Rectangular Channels

We present a device to continuously focus microparticles in a liquid-filled open channel subjected to lateral vibration at frequencies of the order of 10 Hz. The vibration generates a capillary wave at the liquid-air interface. This capillary wave leads to a net motion of microparticles over multiple cycles, causing collection under the displacement nodes of the capillary wave. These accumulated particles are observed as a concentrated stream in the presence of a continuous flow along the open channel, which means that the channel can be designed such that the focused particle stream exits through one outlet, while the filtrate is removed via interspaced outlets on each side of the particle stream. A numerical model is proposed, which superimposes the periodic flow field due to the capillary wave and the inlet-induced transverse flow field between the inlet and the outlet. The model is utilized to predict the smallest distance from the inlet at which the focused stream of particles is obtained, termed here the collection length. In addition, experiments are performed for different channel and inlet sizes, vibration actuation amplitudes, flow rates, and particle sizes. By considering the design factors extracted from the modeling data, we demonstrate that the resulting device is capable of continuous particle collection down to 1 μm diameter, at flow rates of up to 1.2 ml/min