Microfluidic devices having a reduced number of input and output connections

摘要

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.

主权项

1. A microfluidic processing system comprising:
a control board; a plurality of analog multiplexors positioned on the control board, the multiplexors having one or more input terminals; a plurality of independently controllable resistive heating elements; and a plurality of leads for electrically connecting the multiplexors on the control board to the heating elements, wherein the number of leads is greater than the number of multiplexor input terminals.