1. Microfluidic Platform for Pathogen, Toxin, Biomarker, and Chemical Detection with Removable Updatable Sensor Array

NRI’s microfluidic removable updatable sensor array platform technology provides:

• Rich abilities to flexibly perform, create, deploy, maintain, and update a wide range of panels, assay, array, and/or sequences of tests for a wide range of substances and pathogens,
• A unifying framework for widely-ranging miniature sensor implementation, fluidic/gas interfacing, electrical interfacing, optical interfacing, and integrating a large number highly-selective sensors and chemical sensors–together as advantageous with appropriately selected supplemental sensors (for example temperature, pH, selective ions, etc.), into a common readily-manufacturable framework that could be ready standardized,
• Wide ranges of new inexpensive diverse sensor array strategies that can be configured for dramatic statistical enhancing through novel statistical processing tied with ‘experiment design’ approaches,
• Deployable, valuable, practical, and previously unavailable solutions for a wide range of field, clinical, and laboratory situations,
• Deployable, valuable, practical, and previously unavailable solutions addressing many otherwise problematic aspects of field testing for food safety, water safety, epidemic outbreaks, routine diagnosis, and disease monitoring,
• Many other important fundamental features and capabilities.

NRI is seeking funding to considerably expand the pace, scope, disclosure, and productization of these important innovations.

See pending US 13/815,757 and other methods and patent assets described in Microfluidic and Lab-On-A-Chip Systems for component technologies supporting, and associated technologies directly applicable to NRI’s microfluidic removable updatable sensor array platform technology.

2. Miniaturized Optical Absorption Gas Sensor for Microplate Wells, Piping, Conduits, and Enclosed Chambers

NRI’s miniaturized optical absorption gas sensor technology “folds” the optical path by reflecting narrow-beam collimated light paths of specific wavelengths (aligned with gas absorption spectral lines) through a gas mixture within a planar-cross-section or spatial volume to create path lengths far longer than the width of the cross-section. The NRI methodology can be extended to circular and non-circular (elliptical, partially spherical, partially ellipsoidal, or related geometric) cross-section arrangements. Although reflective folded optics have been suggested and applied to various problems, the NRI methodology leverages reflective folded optics in fundamentally different ways. Multiple light wavelengths can be employed sequentially or simultaneously to measure selected spectral absorptions lines spanning near infra-red through visible range to near ultraviolet. Light sources and detectors can be implemented in the form of miniature-sized low-cost semiconductor optoelectronics.

NRI’s miniaturized optical absorption gas sensor technology can be used for per-well gas (for example CO₂) monitoring of cell-culture and other types of at least 24-well and 96-well microarray assays (also commonly referred to as “microplates,” “microtiter plates,” and “assays”). Other application areas include piping and conduit arrangements, gas-sample tube systems, laboratory glassware, industrial reaction vessels, gas canisters, gas pressure regulators, gas mixing manifolds, mass flow controllers, CO₂ cell incubators, and a wide range of other applications.

Issued Patents

Title	Patent Number	Application Number	Priority Dates	PDF	Text Only	Related Patents
Microprocessor-Controlled Microfluidic Platform for Pathogen, Toxin, Biomarker, and Chemical Detection with Removable Updatable Sensor Array for Food and Water Safety, Medical, and Laboratory Applications	10,274,487	13/761,142	02/06/2012 02/07/2012 03/22/2012	PDF	Text	Biochemical/Chemical Sensors and Sensor-Array Systems

Pending Published Applications

Title	Publication Number	Application Number	Priority Dates	Publish Date	PDF	Text Only	Related Patents
High-Accuracy Statistical Detection and Discernment of Pathogens, Substances, and Biomarkers Using Binary Classifiers Operating on Processed Measurements from Groups of Less-Accurate Sensors	2019/0257829	16/399,498	02/06/2012 02/07/2012 03/22/2012		PDF	Text	Biochemical/Chemical Sensors and Sensor-Array Systems

Pending Unpublished Applications

Title	Application Number	Priority Dates	Related Patents
Miniaturized Direct Optical Absorption Gas Sensor Arrangements for Enclosed Chambers, and Microplate Wells, Piping, and Conduits	16/460,974	07/03/2018	Biosensor and Chemical Sensor Array Systems