Patent ID: 8381598

Claim:
A method of measuring the flow rate of an electrically conductive liquid flowing in the laminar flow regime, along a defined direction, in a device comprising a fluidic channel ( 1 ) having a millimeter- to-micron-sized transverse dimension, and at least a pair of measurement electrodes, an electrical double layer forming at the interface of each electrode with the conductive liquid, characterized in that the geometry characteristics of the channel, in the direction of the flow, next to one of the electrodes are different to the geometry characteristics of the channel, in the direction of the flow, next to the other electrode of said pair, so that the flow velocity fields in the diffuse layers facing each electrode are different, and so that the convective-diffusive charge equilibrium of the electrical double layer at the interface of each electrode is different, the method comprising the following steps: a) establishing the flow of the liquid; b) measuring a voltage between the electrodes of said pair of electrodes; and c) deducing the flow rate of the liquid therefrom.