Method and Apparatus for Programmable Fluidic Processing
A method and apparatus for microfluidic processing by programmably manipulating a packet. A material is introduced onto a reaction surface and compartmentalized to form a packet. A position of the packet is sensed with a position sensor. A programmable manipulation force is applied to the packet at the position. The programmable manipulation force is adjustable according to packet position by a controller. The packet is programmably moved according to the programmable manipulation force along arbitrarily chosen paths.
1 - 41 . (canceled)
42 . An apparatus for programmably manipulating a packet, the apparatus comprising:
a fluidic device comprising a reaction surface and an array, the array comprising a plurality of elements that are individually addressable along arbitrarily chosen paths about the reaction surface;
a signal generator configured to apply electrical signals to the elements to generate electrical field distributions and impart manipulation forces on a packet to programmably move the packet about the reaction surface; and
a controller coupled to the signal generator and configured to adjust the programmable manipulation forces.
43 . The apparatus of claim 42 , further comprising:
a memory coupled to and accessible by the controller, the memory storing a plurality of subroutines for programmably manipulating a packet about the reaction surface.
44 . The apparatus of claim 42 , further comprising:
a position sensor configured to detect a position of a packet on the reaction surface.
45 . The apparatus of claim 44 , where the controller is coupled to the position sensor and configured to adjust the programmable manipulation forces according to the position.
46 . The apparatus of claim 45 , where the position sensor comprises a conductor configured to measure an electrical impedance of the packet.
47 . The apparatus of claim 46 , where the array and the position sensor are integral.
48 . The apparatus of claim 46 , where the position sensor comprises an optical system configured to monitor the position of the packet.
49 . The apparatus of claim 42 , where the fluidic device comprises an integrated circuit that includes the elements of the array.
50 . The apparatus of claim 49 , where the integrated circuit comprises an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) that includes the controller.
51 . An apparatus for programmably manipulating a packet, the apparatus comprising:
a fluidic device comprising a reaction surface and an array, the array comprising a plurality of elements that are individually addressable;
a signal generator configured to apply electrical signals to the elements to generate electrical field distributions and impart manipulation forces on a packet to programmably move the packet about the reaction surface;
a controller coupled to the signal generator and configured to adjust the programmable manipulation forces; and
a memory coupled to the controller, the memory storing a plurality of subroutines for programmably manipulating a packet about the reaction surface.
52 . The apparatus of claim 60 , further comprising:
a position sensor configured to detect a position of a packet on the reaction surface.