Objective: Provide Information Necessary to Relate Customer Requirements and Expectations s3

Project Readiness Package Prepared By: Peter Dunning Rev 7/22/11

Introduction:

Administrative Information:

·  Preferred Start/End Term in Senior Design:

·  Level of Interest to be on team:

N/A – Completed MSD Previously

·  Faculty Champion: (technical mentor: supports proposal development, anticipated technical mentor during project execution; may also be Sponsor)

·  Other Support, if known: (faculty or others willing to provide expertise in areas outside the domain of the Faculty Champion)

·  Project “Guide” if known: (project mentor: guides team through Senior Design process and grades students; may also be Faculty Champion)

·  Primary Customer, if known (name, phone, email): (actual or representative user of project output; articulates needs/requirements)

·  Sponsor(s): (provider(s) of financial support)

Project Overview:

The global molecular diagnostics market has increased from $360M in 1995 to $4.8B in 2011 and is projected to reach $8B by 2016. As the population ages, new technologies are required to satisfy demand for high quality healthcare while reducing the cost of service. The development of microfluidic Lab-On-A-Chip (LOAC) devices to automate and miniaturize medical tests (i.e. biological protocols) has the potential to reduce healthcare costs while improving service by performing tests at the point of care (i.e. doctor’s offices, developing world, field hospitals, etc.).

Digital MicroFluidics (DMF) is a novel platform that can manipulate pico to nano liter sized discrete droplets by applying voltages to electrodes in an array (Fig. 1). This allows DMF devices to manipulate fluid without channels, pumps or valves. These devices have low power consumption and high compatibility with biological fluids.

The Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) is one diagnostic test of interest. This test detects proteins of interest and can be used to diagnose a wide variety of conditions (HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, etc.). A typical work flow for this protocol is presented in Figure 2. The ELISA protocol requires multiple steps to complete the test.

DMF devices have the potential to be used to complete these types of protocols. The end goal is to create a small, lightweight, portable, and cost effective LOAC device that uses DMF to complete the ELISA protocol. In order for this end goal to be reached multiple successive projects must be implemented. A roadmap of all of the MSD projects is presented in Figure 3.

This PRP encompasses work to be done by a MSD team to complete Control System II. The project is detailed in the section below.

Detailed Project Description:

The Control System II project will be utilizing DMF test chips provided by Dr. Michael Schertzer, from work completed by Mr. Peter Dunning. The assigned team will create a control system to actuate pico to nano sized liters of discrete fluid droplets on the chips. The control system must be able to (i) sense position, (ii) record resistance, (iii) record capacitance, and (iv) record velocity. The control system must be housed in a small, lightweight, durable, and portable unit. The control system must have a GUI and may be open loop and/or closed loop. Testing and comparisons to the original National Instruments (NI) PXI control system must be completed to prove the accuracy, reliability, and increased modularity of the new control system. A detailed design must be provided to recreate and modify the (i) hardware, (ii) software, (iii) housing unit, and (iv) calibration/testing measurements. A detailed description of the parameters needed to be met is discussed in depth in the Specifications section of the PRP. The following Customer Needs are laid out for the entirety of the project below (Table 1) with specific needs highlighted that relate to the Control System II project.

·  Customer Needs and Objectives:

Table 1

Background:

Dr. Michael Schertzer used a similar set up in the University of Toronto (Figure 5) comprising of a NI PXI control system (Signal Generator, Controller, Matrix - Switching Card), an Agilent 4288A Capacitance Meter, and a custom made amplifier. This system was used to monitor DMF devices, and obtain information on droplet speed, capacitance, and resistance.

The Signal Generator output a sine wave of 10 Vp-p at a frequency of 10 kHz, the Matrix-Switching Device had 4 inputs and 32 outputs, the Capacitance Meter measured capacitance with a resolution of ~0.20 pF, and the custom amplifier was able to amplify the signal to around 90-110 Vrms. The Matrix-Switching Device was used to connect to each individual electrode-ground pair that the droplet would actuate on (similar to a checkerboard).

Figure 5: (a) Previous laboratory set-up, (b) a side-view of the device analyzed containing a droplet, and (c) the control system with wires connected to electrode and ground contacts

Constraints:

1.  Control pico to nano liter sized discrete droplets on a previously manufactured Digital MicroFluidic (DMF) device that is provided to the MSD team

2.  Use Electrowetting to manipulate fluid droplet

3.  Use DI water as the liquid to be transported

·  Project Deliverables:

1.  Control system that manipulates pico to nano liter sized discrete droplets on a previously manufactured DMF device better & more modular than the original NI PXI control system with the following capabilities:

a.  Measure & Record Resistance

b.  Measure & Record Capacitance

c.  Calculate & Record Impedance

d.  Measure & Record Droplet Velocity

e.  Have the ability to expand to calculate more parameters if needed

2.  Housing for the control system with the following characteristics:

a.  Small

b.  Lightweight

c.  Durable

d.  Portable

3.  Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the completed control system

4.  Design of experiment for testing and analysis of control system that proves the accuracy, reliability, and modularity of new control system in comparison to the NI PXI control system

5.  Design of experiment for calibration of control system unit

6.  Detailed design that can be used to recreate an modify the:

a.  Hardware

b.  Software

c.  Housing Unit

d.  Design of Experiment (Calibration & Testing)

·  Budget Estimate:

Table 4

·  Intellectual Property (IP) considerations:

N/A

·  Other Information:

N/A

·  Continuation Project Information, if appropriate:

As detailed in Figure 3, the prerequisites for this project include Control System I, Fabrication I, Automation I, and Capacitance Modeling Co-op. This includes the work done by a Graduate Research Assistant, and Mechanical Engineering Co-op student that will provide the original DMF device made in the cleanroom, the NI PXI control system, and capacitance modeling of the system. The Control System II project will create a more modular, efficient, and compact control system to analyze DMF devices. Once this project is complete, Automation II will be iterated on with the goal of fully automating the ELISA protocol in a closed loop format using a PC interface. Once the Automation II project is complete, Automation III will be iterated on with the goal of optimizing performance and eliminating the need for a PC. The automation system will be made to operate on a smaller, more portable device. A user friendly interface will be developed to communicate with the control system and provide an easy way to input commands to the system.

Student Staffing:

·  Anticipated Staffing Levels by Discipline:

For complete skills checklist where 1=highest priority, and 3=lowest priority (Appendix Table 7)

Table 5

Other Resources Anticipated:

Table 6

Appendix:

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