MEDA-Based Biochips

Abstract

Digital microfluidic biochips (DMFB), a newly developed lab-on-chip device, has evolved in recent years as a significant miniaturized platform for applications in the area of point-of-care investigations, DNA sequencing, and further biomedical detection and analysis. By means of rapid escalation in scalability, complexity, and requirements of more accurate control and accuracy, a novel DMFB-based architecture known as microelectrode dot array (MEDA) has been introduced. Due to its higher complexity and parallel execution of multiple bioassays, conventional testing methods used for DMFBs may not be adequate for fault diagnosis and detection in such devices. In this chapter, the authors proposed new techniques compatible with higher complexity and applicable for structural testing of MEDA-based biochips. The proposed testing methods provide detection of faults or failure (if any) within a given layout using minimal resources with minimal test completion time. The testing simulations are carried out with specified layout dimensions and variable droplet size.