Medical Design Briefs - November 2021 - 30

Micron-Sized Lab-on-aChip
Devices
Researchers have demonResearchers
can 3D print microfluidic
devices with components smaller
than ever before. (Credit: BYU Photo)
strated the ability to create
microfluidic lab-on-a-chip
devices with channels and
valves smaller than ever
before. Using a new 3D
printing technique, the
team has created chips with
valves that are only 15 µm
in size.
The team innovated the way that printed layers on the
chip are stacked. Instead of printing all the layers uniform,
a technique typically seen in traditional methods of 3D
printing, they changed the thickness, order, and number of
layers stacked. These small changes resulted in dramatic
advantages that now allow for the chip to be manufactured
at a fraction of the cost, and at a much smaller scale than
before.
The team is hoping that their new development will set in
motion more microfluidic research and development. Due
to the lower cost it now takes to create these devices, this
type of work will become more accessible to more people
and will result in more discoveries and progress in the field.
For more information, visit www.medicaldesignbriefs.com/
roundup/1121/chip.
The system both pinpoints the
exact location of a tumor and
measures its depth. (Credit:
EPFL)
Next-Generation Camera
Better Locates Tumors
A system can, for the first time,
both pinpoint the exact location
of a tumor and measure its depth.
Their method involves projecting
red light onto an area of diseased
tissue with a laser while
the high-tech camera simultaneously
takes a picture of the area.
When the red-light particles reach a tumor, they behave
slightly differently from when they pass through healthy tissue.
More specifically, it takes them longer to return to the point
they were sent from. And it's this time differential that gives scientists
the information they need to reconstruct the tumor.
The delay is less than a nanosecond, but it's enough to be able
to generate a 2D or 3D image. The new system can accurately
identify a tumor's shape, including its thickness, and locate it within
a patient's body. The time lag is due to the fact that when red
light comes into contact with a tumor, it loses some of its energy.
The deeper into a tumor the light travels, the more time it
will take to return, which allows researchers to construct an
image in three dimensions. The images generated by the system
will let them make sure they've removed all the cancerous
tissue and that no little pieces remain.
For more information, visit www.medicaldesignbriefs.com/
roundup/1121/tumors.
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Medical Design Briefs - November 2021

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