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 and along a second axis of said device; b) moving the light beam along the first axis from 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 along the first axis 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 the 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 features comprise 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 (f) 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 at the same position along the second axis at which the first distance between said first and second optical features is equal to the preset distance.
- 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 1, wherein the step of comparing the first distance to a preset distance further comprises calculating the position along the second axis at which the first distance is equal to the preset distance.
- 9. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of 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. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting a first optical feature comprises detecting light reflected from a first optical feature, and detecting a second optical feature comprises detecting light reflected from a second optical feature.
- 11. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting a first optical feature comprises detecting light emitted from a first optical feature, and detecting a second optical feature comprises detecting light emitted from a second optical feature.
- 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the emission of light from the first and second optical features results from the fluorescence of a material contained within the first and second optical features.
- 13. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting a first optical feature comprises detecting a change in transmissivity or absorbance, and detecting a second optical feature comprises detecting a change in transmissivity or absorbance.
- 14. The method of claim 1 wherein said determining is performed by a computer.
- 15. The method of claim 14 wherein said computer stores the preset distance between the first and second optical features.
- 16. The method of claim 1 further comprising moving the light beam to a third optical feature that includes the detection region.
- 17. The method of claim 16 wherein the third optical feature comprises a microfluidic channel of the device.
- 18. A method for identifying a microfluidic device, comprising:
providing a microfluidic device with a first pattern of optical features; obtaining a first optical profile of the microfluidic device, said optical profile corresponding to the first pattern; comparing the first optical profile to a library of patterns.
- 19. The method of claim 18 wherein the first pattern comprises at least two microfluidic channels.
- 20. The method of claim 18 wherein the first pattern comprises at least one microfluidic channel and at least one reservoir.
- 21. The method of claim 18 wherein obtaining the first optical profile comprises imaging an area of the microfluidic device.
- 22. The method of claim 21 wherein imaging an area of the microfluidic device comprises taking a digital picture of a region of the microfluidic device.
- 23. A system for identifying a microfluidic device, comprising:
a microfluidic device with a first pattern of optical features; a light source that illuminates at least a portion of the microfluidic device; a detection system that detects light emitted or reflected from optical features on the illuminated at least a portion of microfluidic device, and a computer that receives data representative of the amount of emitted or reflected light from the detection system, correlates the data into an optical profile of the microfluidic device, and then compares the optical profile of the microfluidic device to a library of stored optical profiles.
- 24. The system of claim 23 wherein the light source comprises a laser.
- 25. The system of claim 23 wherein the light source comprises an LED.
- 26. The system of claim 23, wherein the detection system comprises a photodiode.
- 27. The system of claim 23, wherein the detection system comprises a photomutiplier tube.
- 28. The system of claim 23, wherein the detection system comprises an imaging system.
- 29. The system of claim 23, wherein the detection system comprises a CCD camera.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/197,231, filed Jul. 16, 2002, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/306,094, filed Jul. 17, 2001, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60306094 |
Jul 2001 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10197231 |
Jul 2002 |
US |
Child |
10345699 |
Jan 2003 |
US |