Microfluidic

When performing in vitro fertilization, it's important to use the "best" sperm possible. And while there are already sorting methods that select the fastest-swimming sperm, a new microfluidic device also ensures that they're the healthiest.

​A few years ago, MIT scientists developed a novel way to separate blood cells using sound waves. Now the team has demonstrated the process can isolate exosomes from blood samples, potentially creating a fast way to detect biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.

If sepsis is addressed too late, it can result in organ failure and ultimately death. Scientists at the University of Illinois are working at detecting the harmful immune response quicker than ever, with a new lab-on-a-chip device.​

Scientists have developed what's been described as "the female menstrual cycle in a dish." Known as Evatar, the system contains actual human tissue, and incorporates interconnected 3D models of the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix, vagina and liver.

With little more than a standard inkjet printer, some silicone, and a sheet of polymer film, Stanford researchers have created a reusable diagnostic "lab on a chip" that costs just 1 cent to make. This new technology could help vastly improve disease detection worldwide.

​​When it comes to hazardous fluids, the less that researchers have to finely manipulate them, the better. It was with this in mind that scientists recently developed a new material that does something special when exposed to liquid – it rolls itself into a straw-like tube.​

We’ve seen microfluidic devices used for everything from creating organ-on-a-chip systems, to diagnosing ebola. Now, scientists have created a device that uses acoustic vibrations to sort cells, paving the way for faster and more convenient blood test machines.

​Because they filter our blood, our kidneys are particularly susceptible to damage from toxins in our bloodstream. So, how do drug developers know how much is safe? Typically, it's through animal testing, although researchers have now developed something more accurate – a "kidney-on-a-chip."​

A new low-cost device could be used to diagnose diseases in remote regions, where limited health facilities make it difficult to deal with epidemics. The system can provide accurate diagnoses from tiny samples of blood, and has been successfully tested with Ebola.

The Hoope ring is worn on the thumb, and can reportedly diagnose diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia and trichomoniasis in less than a minute. It could also be adapted to detect other conditions.

A team of researchers from MIT, Pennsylvania State University and Carnegie Mellon University has announced key improvements to its acoustic wave-harnessing cell sorting method. The device is now able to obtain accurate results from a patient sample in as little as five hours.

Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley) have taken adult stem cells and grown a lattice of beating human heart tissue on a silicon device. This new system presents advantages in both a potential reduction in animal vivisection and a possible increase in testing speeds.