Patent ID: 11944972
Assignee: THE GENERAL HOSPITAL CORPORATION
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC B  A  G | IPC A  B  G

Claim 5:
6. A microfluidic device comprising:
a first microfluidic channel;
a second microfluidic channel extending along the first microfluidic channel; and
a first array of islands separating the first microfluidic channel from the second microfluidic channel, wherein a boundary of the first microfluidic channel is defined by a first undulating outer wall,
wherein each island is separated from an adjacent island in the array by an opening that fluidly couples the first microfluidic channel to the second microfluidic channel,
wherein the first microfluidic channel, the second microfluidic channel, and the islands are configured to increase a fluidic resistance of the first microfluidic channel relative to a fluidic resistance of the second microfluidic channel along a longitudinal direction of the first microfluidic channel, wherein, during use of the microfluidic device, a portion of a fluid sample flowing through the first microfluidic channel passes through one or more of the openings between adjacent islands into the second microfluidic channel,
wherein a width of the first microfluidic channel repeatedly alternates between a narrow region and an enlarged region along the longitudinal direction of the first microfluidic channel, and
wherein, for each island, a contour of a first side of the island substantially matches a contour of the first undulating outer wall of the first channel facing the first side of the island, and a radii of curvature of the first undulating outer wall through a first turn of the first microfluidic channel is smaller than a radii of curvature of the first undulating outer wall through a second adjacent turn of the first microfluidic channel,
wherein at least one of the enlarged regions is aligned with a corresponding opening between the islands.