Patent ID: 6935192
Filing Date: 2005-08-30
Classification: G01F

Abstract:
1. A method of measuring on-chip fluid flow within a microfabricated device comprising: introducing a heat tracer into a fluid flowing within a passageway of said microfabricated device, including defining a start region for determining a propagation rate of said heat tracer within said passageway; monitoring a condition of said fluid during passage through an interrogation region; based on said monitoring, detecting when said heat tracer reaches said interrogation region, thereby acquiring information relevant to said propagation rate of said heat tracer from said start region to said interrogation region; and determining a bulk flow rate of said fluid through said passageway on a basis of said detecting and on a basis of an adjustment that is specific to a scaling between said bulk flow rate and said propagation rate of said heat tracer, said scaling being representative of a flow rate differential between said bulk flow rate and said propagation rate of said heat tracer.