Patent ID: 8292798

Claim:
An incubator for babies before implantation, comprising: a layer-based microfluidic enclosure designed to maintain a human embryo or hatchling as a patient in a controlled environment for medical care, the enclosure, having a flooring and a surrounding wall structure with an open top, forming a cradle support for the patient, and having a microfluidic ventilation system to provide a flow of incubation liquid media in and out of the enclosure, wherein the enclosure is further characterized as being assembled from a plurality of layers bonded together and populated with at least one patient care device; the layers, including at least one layer forming the flooring, at least one other layer forming the wall structure by means of a hole disposed completely therethrough, and a ventilation network of microfluidic channels or vias disposed in one or more layers in fluidic communication with the enclosure; the at least one patient care device, including a microfluidic device for urging fluid in the ventilation network; and, the microfluidic ventilation system, including the microfluidic device and the associated ventilation network to provide the patient in the cradle support with gentle, fluidic ventilation.