The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 25, 2023
Filed:
Aug. 24, 2018
Uti Limited Partnership, Calgary, CA;
The Governors of the University of Alberta, Edmonton, CA;
Hamid Sadabadi, Edmonton, CA;
Mohammad Hossein Zarifi, Kelowna, CA;
Mojgan Daneshmand, Edmonton, CA;
Amir Sanati-Nezhad, Calgary, CA;
UTI Limited Partnership, Calgary, CA;
The Governors of the University of Alberta, Edmonton, CA;
Abstract
A sensor and method for use in measuring a physical characteristic of a fluid in a microfluidic system is provided. A microfluidic chip has a thin deformable membrane that separates a microfluidic channel from a microwave resonator sensor. The membrane is deformable in response to loading from interaction of the membrane with the fluid. Loading may be fluid pressure in the channel, or shear stress or surface stress resulting from interaction of the membrane with the fluid. The deformation of the membrane changes the permittivity in the region proximate the sensor. A change in permittivity causes a change in the electrical parameters of the sensor, thereby allowing for a characteristic of the fluid, such as flow rate, or a biological or chemical characteristic, to be measured. Also, a microwave sensor with improved sensitivity for characterizing a fluid in a microfluidic channel is provided. The sensor has a rigid and very thin layer, for example in the range of 10 um to 100 um, in the microfluidic chip allowing for the positioning of the sensor very close to the microfluidic channel, which enables very high resolution sensing.