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

这个PFI：空气技术翻译项目专注于为芯片实验室(LOCS)翻译微流控设计自动化软件的概念，以降低为医疗诊断、药物发现、生物治疗检测和环境监测等应用设计新LOCS的成本，并提高生物和生物医学科学的进步速度。现场计算机辅助设计(CAD)软件很重要，因为许多需要高度定制化现场的工业从业者缺乏以低成本和在合理的时间范围内获得这些现场的手段。与此同时，目前的设计方法不能跟上当前摩尔定律的步伐-集成微流控部件数量的增长速度和不断增加的设备复杂性。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、用于指导组件和流体通道的3D体积的集成流体建模、自动设计规则检查、辅助选择制造技术和材料以及3D渲染功能。与工程师和技术专家相比，这些功能提供了一个专门为满足受过设计生物实验培训的用户的需求而量身定做的平台的关键优势，并与目前在该市场领域采用的领先竞争通用CAD工具和有限元分析软件相比，在可用性和用户生产率方面提供了改进。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，然后迭代其他流动模拟软件以评估设计的正确性。相反，该项目提出了一种新的设计范例，其中流体建模算法驱动针对一般微流控技术，特别是LOCS的知情设计过程。这比迭代地应用特定的设计过程，然后专门使用正式方法来确定每个结果设计的正确性，对潜在用户更有吸引力。该项目将紧密集成使用基于草图的界面的CAD软件和流体建模算法，该软件采用符合当前设计实践的基于草图的界面，可在细化草图和半自动绘制工作设备的3D图像方面反复帮助用户，其中考虑了部件和通道的几何形状等。它还将提供使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、上市时间和产品性能目标选择适当的制造技术和材料。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Co-Pi Gunnar Hurtig项目提供的与商业相关主题的培训和指导，以及由UCR技术转移办公室带头的“技术转移路演”，获得创新、创业和技术翻译经验，预计这些活动将最终形成公司。该项目邀请了Lattice Automation，Inc.、PharmaSeq和Potomac Affity Proteins，LLC，他们将允许项目团队使用微流体CAD软件来复制现有产品，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换工作中提供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.