Patent ID: 7651598

Claim:
A method for transporting a plurality of objects suspended in a fluid contained by a microfluidic receptacle respectively along a corresponding one of a plurality of trajectories, the microfluidic receptacle having adapted thereto a plurality of fluid actuators for respectively applying a corresponding force on the fluid, the method comprising the steps of: (a) determining a plurality of continuous fluid flow fields for the fluid in the microfluidic receptacle, each of said plurality of fields defining a fluid flow responsive to a respective set of actuation signals being applied to the plurality of fluid actuators; (b) selecting an arbitrary destination point on each of the plurality of trajectories to which a corresponding object is to be moved; wherein each of the plurality of trajectories is arbitrarily selectable anywhere within the fluid and independent of the interior volume of the receptacle; (c) selecting a first set of said plurality of continuous fluid flow fields producing a requisite fluid flow in the spatial locality of each of the plurality of objects, for respectively correcting for object deviation from said arbitrary destination point and transporting each of the plurality of objects to said destination point on said corresponding trajectory; said plurality of objects responsive and corresponding to the requisite fluid flow and independent of a non-requisite fluid flow in a spatial locality substantially displaced from each of said plurality of objects; (d) applying said actuation signals corresponding to said set of continuous fluid flow fields to said plurality of fluid actuators; and (e) repeating the method beginning at said step (b) until each of the plurality of objects has respectively traversed the corresponding one of the plurality of trajectories.