I-Corps: Quick Liquid Layout: Commercialization of Microfluidic Very Large Scale Integration Design Automation Tools

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This project represents an initial step toward commercialization of technologies developed under NSF Award "Design Automation for Microfluidic Large Scale Integration Laboratories-on-a-Chip." Lab-on-a-Chip (LoC) technology reduces the time and cost to perform complex biological laboratory experiments through miniaturization and automation; applications of this technology include medical diagnostics, point-of-care testing, biomedical research, water quality management, environmental monitoring, etc. The design automation software will simplify the process of LoC design, providing benefits such as reduced cost of design and testing, faster time-to-market, and lower likelihood of human error. Successful commercialization of these research efforts will enhance scientific productivity and lower the barrier-to-entry for new users of LoC technology.The goals of this project are to train the principal investigator, entrepreneurial lead, and mentor in technological entrepreneuriship, and to enable them to meet with potential customers for their technology. The scope of the project involves attending two training sessions in Washington, D.C., attending weekly webinars, and traveling to visit potential customers, including academic laboratories in the biological sciences, and companies in segments such as biotechnology, medicine, healthcare, etc. The I-Corps team members will leverage these experiences to assess commercial interest in their microfluidic design automation software along with its readiness in terms of meeting customer needs. If commercialization is successful, future users of laboratory-on-a-chip technology will be able to leverage our software to automatically design their chips, as opposed to current practice which is to manually lay out the entire architecture by hand.