Patent ID: 7674431

Claim:
A microfluidic processing device, comprising: a substrate comprising one or more components selected from the group consisting of: a thermally actuated pump, a thermally actuated valve, and a microfabricated reaction chamber, and further comprising a plurality of N independently controllable heating elements, each having at least two terminals, wherein each heating element is in thermal communication with one of the components; a plurality of input/output contacts for connecting said substrate to an external controller, and a plurality of leads for connecting said contacts to said terminals wherein each said lead connects a corresponding contact to a plurality of terminals and wherein the terminals of each said heating element are connected to a unique combination of contacts, whereby the number of contacts required to independently control said N heating elements is substantially less than the total number of terminals without requiring a separate lead for each said terminal, and wherein said controller can thereby control each said heating element independently of each other heating element.