SHF: Small:Design Tools and Optimization Methods for Digital Microfluidic Biochips

数字微流控技术的进步带来了生物芯片在医疗诊断等领域的应用前景。这些设备能够精确控制生化样品和试剂的纳升液滴。因此，集成电路(IC)技术可以用来运输和处理纳升/皮升液滴形式的“生化有效载荷”。因此，非传统的生物医学应用和市场正在从根本上打开IC的新用途。该项目的目标是为可重新配置的微流控生物芯片开发一个设计自动化基础设施。它设想了一个自动化的设计流程，将改变生物芯片的研究和使用，就像设计自动化在80年代和90年代给IC设计带来革命性的变化一样。正在开发设计工具和优化方法，以确保生物芯片像它们打算取代的宏实验室一样多才多艺。这项研究的结果将在一个集成的微流控处理器生物芯片上实现基于免疫分析的并行诊断测试的“面板”，该芯片可以“用户编程”，并可以根据皮升样本/试剂体积实时提供结果。具体的研究任务包括控制路径合成和微控制器/微流控一体化，多路免疫分析的芯片优化，用于智能决策的微流控逻辑门，以及可测试性设计。微型化和低成本的生物芯片将彻底改变空气质量研究和临床诊断的数据分析，使环境监测、医疗保健、暴露评估和应急响应发生变革。该项目特别符合ITRS 2007年所阐述的职能多样化和“不仅仅是摩尔”的愿景，其中强调“医疗”是未来的“系统驱动力”。该项目连接了几个研究社区，例如微流体、电子设计自动化和生物化学，并为研究生和本科生提供跨学科教育。

Advances in digital microfluidics have led to the promise of biochips for applications such as point-of-care medical diagnostics. These devices enable the precise control of nanoliter droplets of biochemical samples and reagents. Therefore, integrated circuit (IC) technology can be used to transport and process "biochemical payload" in the form of nanoliter/picoliter droplets. As a result, non-traditional biomedical applications and markets are opening up fundamentally new uses for ICs. The goal of this project is to develop a design-automation infrastructure for reconfigurable microfluidic biochips. It envisions an automated design flow that will transform biochip research and their use, in the same way as design automation revolutionized IC design in the 80s and 90s. Design tools and optimization methods are being developed to ensure that biochips are as versatile as the macro-labs that they are intended to replace. The results from this research will enable a "panel" of concurrent immunoassay-based diagnostic tests on an integrated microfluidic processor biochip that can be "user-programmed", and which can provide results in real-time with picoliter sample/reagent volumes. Specific research tasks include control-path synthesis and microcontroller/microfluidics integration, chip optimization for multiplexed immunoassays, microfluidic logic gates for smart decision-making, and design for testability.Miniaturized and low-cost biochips will revolutionize data analysis for air quality studies and clinical diagnostics, enabling a transformation in environmental monitoring, healthcare, exposure assessment, and emergency response. This project is especially aligned with the vision of functional diversification and "More than Moore", as articulated in the ITRS 2007, which highlights "Medical" as a "System Driver" for the future. The project bridges several research communities, e.g., microfluidics, electronic design automation, and biochemistry, and it provides interdisciplinary education to graduate and undergraduate students.