Micro Electrode Dot Array Digital Microfluidic Biochips

This book provides an insightful guide to the design, testing and optimization of micro-electrode-dot-array (MEDA) digital microfluidic biochips. The authors focus on the characteristics specific for MEDA biochips, e.g., real-time sensing and advanced microfluidic operations like lamination mixing and droplet shape morphing. Readers will be enabled to enhance the automated design and use of MEDA and to develop a set of solutions to facilitate the full exploitation of design complexities that are possible with standard CMOS fabrication techniques. The book provides the first set of design automation and test techniques for MEDA biochips. The methods described in this book have been validated using fabricated MEDA biochips in the laboratory. Readers will benefit from an in-depth look at the MEDA platform and how to combine microfluidics with software, e.g., applying biomolecular protocols to software-controlled and cyberphysical microfluidic biochips.

Microfluidic biochips have gained prominence due to their versatile applications to biochemistry and health-care domains such as point-of-care clinical diagnosis of tropical and cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, toxicity analysis, and for the mitigation of the global HIV crisis, among others. Microfluidic Lab-on-Chips (LoCs) offer a convenient platform for emulating various fluidic operations in an automated fashion. However, because of the inherent uncertainty of fluidic operations, the outcome of biochemical experiments performed on-chip can be erroneous even if the chip is tested a priori and deemed to be defect-free. This book focuses on the issues encountered in reliable sample preparation with digital microfluidic biochips (DMFBs), particularly in an error-prone environment. It presents state-of-the-art error management techniques and underlying algorithmic challenges along with their comparative discussions. Describes a comprehensive framework for designing a robust and error-tolerant biomedical system which will help in migrating from cumbersome medical laboratory tasks to small-sized LOC-based systems Presents a comparative study on current error-tolerant strategies for robust sample preparation using DMFBs and reports on efficient algorithms for error-tolerant sample dilution using these devices Illustrates how algorithmic engineering, cyber-physical tools, and software techniques are helpful in implementing fault tolerance Covers the challenges associated with design automation for biochemical sample preparation Teaches how to implement biochemical protocols using software-controlled microfluidic biochips Interdisciplinary in its coverage, this reference is written for practitioners and researchers in biochemical, biomedical, electrical, computer, and mechanical engineering, especially those involved in LOC or bio-MEMS design.

This book provides readers with a valuable guide to understanding security and the interplay of computer science, microfluidics, and biochemistry in a biochip cyberphysical system (CPS). The authors uncover new, potential threat and trust-issues to address, as this emerging technology is poised to be adapted at a large scale. Readers will learn how to secure biochip CPS by leveraging the available resources in different application contexts, as well as how to ensure intellectual property (IP) is protected against theft and counterfeits. This book enables secure biochip CPS design by helping bridge the knowledge gap at the intersection of the multi-disciplinary technology that drives biochip CPS.

This book presents exact, that is minimal, solutions to individual steps in the design process for Digital Microfluidic Biochips (DMFBs), as well as a one-pass approach that combines all these steps in a single process. All of the approaches discussed are based on a formal model that can easily be extended to cope with further design problems. In addition to the exact methods, heuristic approaches are provided and the complexity classes of various design problems are determined. Presents exact methods to tackle a variety of design problems for Digital Microfluidic Biochips (DMFBs); Describes an holistic, one-pass approach solving different design steps all at once; Based on a formal model of DMFBs that is easily adaptable to deal with further design tasks.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of flow-based, microfluidic VLSI. The authors describe and solve in a comprehensive and holistic manner practical challenges such as control synthesis, wash optimization, design for testability, and diagnosis of modern flow-based microfluidic biochips. They introduce practical solutions, based on rigorous optimization and formal models. The technical contributions presented in this book will not only shorten the product development cycle, but also accelerate the adoption and further development of modern flow-based microfluidic biochips, by facilitating the full exploitation of design complexities that are possible with current fabrication techniques.

This book brings together a selection of the best papers from the twenty-first edition of the Forum on specification and Design Languages Conference (FDL), which took place on September 10-12, 2018, in Munich, Germany. FDL is a well-established international forum devoted to dissemination of research results, practical experiences and new ideas in the application of specification, design and verification languages to the design, modeling and verification of integrated circuits, complex hardware/software embedded systems, and mixed-technology systems. Covers Assertion Based Design, Verification & Debug; Includes language-based modeling and design techniques for embedded systems; Covers design, modeling and verification of mixed physical domain and mixed signal systems that include significant analog parts in electrical and non-electrical domains; Includes formal and semi-formal system level design methods for complex embedded systems based on the Unified Modelling Language (UML) and Model Driven Engineering (MDE).

This book provides a comprehensive methodology for automated design, test and diagnosis, and use of robust, low-cost, and manufacturable digital microfluidic systems. It focuses on the development of a comprehensive CAD optimization framework for digital microfluidic biochips that unifies different design problems. With the increase in system complexity and integration levels, biochip designers can utilize the design methods described in this book to evaluate different design alternatives, and carry out design-space exploration to obtain the best design point.

Digital Microfluidic Biochips focuses on the automated design and production of microfluidic-based biochips for large-scale bioassays and safety-critical applications. Bridging areas of electronic design automation with microfluidic biochip research, the authors present a system-level design automation framework that addresses key issues in the design, analysis, and testing of digital microfluidic biochips. The book describes a new generation of microfluidic biochips with more complex designs that offer dynamic reconfigurability, system scalability, system integration, and defect tolerance. Part I describes a unified design methodology that targets design optimization under resource constraints. Part II investigates cost-effective testing techniques for digital microfluidic biochips that include test resource optimization and fault detection while running normal bioassays. Part III focuses on different reconfiguration-based defect tolerance techniques designed to increase the yield and dependability of digital microfluidic biochips. Expanding upon results from ongoing research on CAD for biochips at Duke University, this book presents new design methodologies that address some of the limitations in current full-custom design techniques. Digital Microfluidic Biochips is an essential resource for achieving the integration of microfluidic components in the next generation of system-on-chip and system-in-package designs.