Patent ID: 8120770

Claim:
An apparatus, the apparatus being a microfluidic device comprising: a substrate, the substrate being generally planar; a sample flow inlet, configured to receive a sample flow; a first flow inlet, configured to receive a first sheath flow; and a curved channel, the curved channel configured to receive the sample flow and the first sheath flow, the sample flow inlet, the first flow inlet, and the curved channel being supported by the substrate, the curved channel being generally parallel to the substrate, the curved channel being configured to provide out-of-plane hydrodynamic focusing of the sample flow when the sample flow and first sheath flow pass together through the curved channel, the sample flow being compressed along a direction normal to the substrate, the apparatus further comprising inlets for in-plane hydrodynamic focusing sheath flows, the in-plane hydrodynamic focusing sheath flows providing hydrodynamic focusing of the sample flow along a direction parallel to the substrate, the first sheath flow together with the in-plane hydrodynamic focusing sheath flows providing three-dimensional hydrodynamic focusing of the sample flow.