PFI:AIR - TT: Prototyping Microfluidic Very Large Scale Integration Design Automation Tools

该PFI：AIR技术翻译项目的重点是翻译用于芯片实验室（LoCs）的微流体设计自动化软件的概念，以降低设计用于医疗诊断，药物发现，生物威胁检测和环境监测等应用的新LoCs的成本，并提高生物和生物医学科学的进展速度。用于LoC的计算机辅助设计（CAD）软件很重要，因为许多期望高度定制的LoC的工业从业者缺乏以低成本并在合理的时间范围内获得它们的手段。同时，当前的设计方法学不能跟上当前的摩尔定律-集成微流体部件的数量的增长率和不断增加的装置复杂性。该项目将产生一个用于LoCs的原型CAD软件平台，该平台提供以下独特功能：基于2D草图的界面，微流体组件库，集成流体建模以指导组件和流体通道的3D体积化，自动设计规则检查，协助选择制造技术和材料，以及3D渲染功能。这些功能提供了一个平台的关键优势，该平台旨在满足受过生物学实验设计培训的用户的需求，而不是工程师和技术人员，并与目前在该市场领域使用的领先竞争通用CAD工具和有限元分析软件相比，在可用性和用户生产力方面提供了改进。该项目解决了以下技术差距，因为它从研究发现转化为商业应用。目前微流控芯片实验室（LoCs）的设计实践要求用户使用复杂的工程CAD软件创建设计，然后通过额外的流动模拟软件来评估设计的正确性。相比之下，该项目提出了一种新的设计范式，其中流体建模算法通常驱动特定于微流体技术的知情设计过程，特别是LoC。这是相当多的潜在用户比迭代地应用一个特设的设计过程，然后使用正式的方法专门建立（中）每个设计结果的正确性。该项目将紧密集成CAD软件，该软件采用基于草图的界面，符合当今的设计实践，具有流体建模算法，可以迭代地帮助用户细化草图并半自动渲染工作设备的3D图像，该图像考虑了组件和通道几何形状，它还将提供采用设计自动化算法来加速设计过程、自动设计规则检查的选项，并将帮助指导用户根据成本选择合适的制造技术和材料，上市时间和产品性能目标。参与该项目的人员，一名博士后研究员和一名博士生，将通过项目Co-PI Gunnar Hurtig提供的业务相关主题的培训和指导获得创新，创业和技术翻译经验，以及由UCR技术转让办公室牵头的“技术转让路演”，预计最终将在公司成立时达到高潮。 该项目由莱迪思自动化公司（Lattice Automation，Inc.）PharmaSeq和Potomac Affinity Proteins，LLC，他们将允许项目团队使用微流体CAD软件复制现有产品，并可能设计新产品，这可以在从研究发现到商业现实的技术转化工作中提供CAD软件原型的初步验证。

This PFI: AIR Technology Translation project focuses on translating the concept of microfluidic design automation software for laboratory-on-a-chips (LoCs) to reduce the cost of designing new LoCs for applications such as medical diagnostics, drug discovery, biothreat detection, and environmental monitoring, and to improve the rate of progress in the biological and biomedical sciences. Computer Aided Design (CAD) software for LoCs is important because many industrial practitioners who desire highly customized LoCs lack the means to obtain them at a low cost and within a reasonable timeframe. Meanwhile current design methodologies cannot keep pace with current Moore's Law-rates of growth in the number of integrated microfluidic components and ever-increasing device complexity. This project will result in a prototype CAD software platform for LoCs, which offers the following unique features: a 2D sketch-based interface, a microfluidic component library, integrated fluid modeling to guide 3D volumization of components and fluid channels, automatic design rule checking, assistance with choosing fabrication technologies and materials, and 3D rendering capabilities. These features provide the key advantage of a platform tailored to meet the needs of users who are trained to design biological experiments, as opposed to engineers and technologists, and to provide improvements in usability and user productivity compared to the leading competing general-purpose CAD tools and finite element analysis software presently employed in this market space. This project addresses the following technology gap as it translates from research discovery toward commercial application. Current design practice for microfluidic laboratories-on-a-chip (LoCs) requires the user to create a design using complex engineering CAD software, then iterate through additional flow simulation software to assess correctness of the design. In contrast, this project proposes a new design paradigm wherein fluid modeling algorithms drive an informed design process specific to microfluidic technologies in general, and LoCs in particular. This is considerably more appealing to potential users than iteratively applying an ad-hoc design process and then using formal methods exclusively to establish the (in)correctness of each resulting design. This project will tightly integrate CAD software that employs a sketch-based interface, in-line with current design practices today, with fluid modeling algorithms that can iteratively assist the user in terms of refining the sketch and semi-automatically rendering a 3D image of the working device, which accounts for component and channel geometries, etc. It will also provide the option to employ design automation algorithms to accelerate the design process, automatic design rule checking, and will help guide the user to select appropriate fabrication technologies and materials in line with cost, time-to-market, and product performance objectives. Personnel involved in this project, one Postdoctoral researcher and one PhD student, will receive innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology translation experiences through training and mentorship on business-related topics provided by project Co-PI Gunnar Hurtig, and a "Technology Transfer Roadshow" spearheaded by UCR's Technology Transfer Office, which are expected to culminate in company formation. The project engages Lattice Automation, Inc., PharmaSeq, and Potomac Affinity Proteins, LLC, who will permit the project team to use the microfluidic CAD software to reproduce existing products, and possibly to design new products, which can provide initial validation of the CAD software prototype in this technology translation effort from research discovery toward commercial reality.