Claims
- 1. A method of positioning an optical detection system with respect to a detection region of a microfluidic device, comprising:
a) positioning a light beam at a first position along a first axis of said device; b) moving the light beam along the first axis through said first position to detect a first optical feature of the device; c) moving the light beam along the first axis to detect a second optical feature of the device; d) determining a first distance between the first and second optical features of the device; e) comparing the first distance to a preset distance between the first and second optical features of the device; and f) moving the light beam to a second position along a second axis of said device if the measured distance is not equal to the preset distance between the first and second optical features.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second optical feature comprises first and second microfluidic channels.
- 3. The method of claim 1, wherein said first axis comprises an X-axis of the device.
- 4. The method of claim 1 wherein said first axis comprises a Y-axis of the device.
- 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising repeating steps (a) through (e) until the first distance is equal to the preset distance between the first and second optical features of the device.
- 6. The method of claim 1 wherein said detection region is located along an axis of the device along which said preset distance between said first and second optical features is calculated.
- 7. The method of claim 2, wherein the first and second microfluidic channels comprise a reaction channel and an alignment channel.
- 8. The method of claim 5 further comprising moving the light beam to a position at which the measured distance between the first and second optical features is equal to the preset distance between the optical features.
- 9. The method of claim 3 wherein moving the light beam to a second position comprises moving the light beam along a Y-axis of the device which is perpendicular to said first axis.
- 10. A method for identifying a microfluidic device, comprising:
providing a microfluidic device with a first pattern of microchannels and reservoirs; obtaining a first optical profile of the microfluidic device, said optical profile reflecting the first pattern; comparing the first optical profile to a library of patterns.
- 11. The method of claim 10 wherein the first optical profile comprises channel geometry on the microfluidic device.
- 12. The method of claim 10 wherein the first optical profile comprises at least two microfluidic channels
- 13. The method of claim 10 wherein the first optical profile comprises at least one microfluidic channel and at least one reservoir.
- 14. The method of claim 10 wherein obtaining the first optical profile comprises imaging an area of the microfluidic device.
- 15. The method of claim 14 wherein imaging an area of the microfluidic device comprises taking a digital picture of a region of the microfluidic device.
- 16. The method of claim 1 wherein said determining is performed by a computer.
- 17. The method of claim 16 wherein said computer stores the preset distance between the first and second optical features.
- 18. The method of claim 8 further comprising moving the light beam to a third optical feature which includes the detection region.
- 19. The method of claim 18 wherein the third optical feature comprises a microfluidic channel of the device.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/306,094, filed Jul. 17, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60306094 |
Jul 2001 |
US |