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Microfluidic Medical Diagnostics Devices: Instructive Student Projects for Product Development in the Coming Decade
Conference proceeding   Open access

Microfluidic Medical Diagnostics Devices: Instructive Student Projects for Product Development in the Coming Decade

Michael Mauk and Richard Chiou
Association for Engineering Education - Engineering Library Division Papers, p26.1152.1
14 Jun 2015
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18260/p.24489
url
https://doi.org/10.18260/p.24489View
Published, Version of Record (VoR)Maybe Open Access (Publisher Bronze),  Open

Abstract

Airports Appropriate technology Biomedical engineering Biomedical materials Bioterrorism Control equipment Cutters Diagnostic systems Engineering education Fluorescent dyes Lab-on-a-chip Medical electronics Microcontrollers Microfluidics Optical fibers Photodiodes Physicians Portable equipment Product development Reagents Saliva Semiconductor lasers Substrates Urine Viral diseases Viruses
Portable devices and systems that enable medical diagnostics outside oftraditional laboratory settings will likely be an important component of futurehealthcare. The recent SARS and Ebola pandemics underscore the pressing needfor simple, low-cost, easy-to-use devices to rapidly test for pathogens in placessuch as airports, border crossings, schools, doctors’ offices, and clinics.Miniaturized diagnostic can be realized with microscale fluidic systems formed oncredit card-sized plastic substrates. These microfluidic “Lab on a Chip” (LOC)devices can process and analyze medical specimens (whole blood, plasma, saliva,urine), food and water, and environmental samples to detect viruses, bacteria,parasites, toxins, and bioterrorism agents. New developments in rapidprototyping (3D printers, laser cutters), Computer-Aided Design (CAD),microcontrollers, Smartphone cameras and other CCD-based imaging, miniaturesensors, freeze-drying reagents, and optical components and materials (e.g., LEDs,laser diodes, photodiodes, optical fibers, filters, fluorescent dyes) make thedesign, fabrication, and testing of Lab on a Chip diagnostics devices accessible toengineering students. We describe Student Design Projects to demonstrate LOCdiagnostics devices to meet current needs for healthcare, public safety, andsustainable development. These projects provide a gateway for engineeringstudents to learn biomedical applications of engineering, gain experience withproduct development, and integrate knowledge of materials, instrumentation,control, rapid prototyping, and applied optics in products with considerable near-term commercial potential and/or as appropriate technology for resource-limitedareas of the world.

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