YPSILANTI, Mich. - Integrated Sensing Systems, Inc. (ISSYS) announced that the U.S. Patent Office has granted it a utility patent (US 7,628,082) "Microfluidic Device and Microtube Therefor."
According to Doug Sparks, executive VP of ISSYS, this patent describes new designs for resonating micromachined tubes which provide improved sensing performance. These sensor chips are used by ISSYS to produce Coriolis mass flowmeters, density and chemical concentration sensors, drug infusion systems, fuel quality and fuel cell concentration sensors and other devices. It complements other patents owned by ISSYS in the area of flow sensors and MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical Systems) devices. It provides new tube shapes and electrode design to improve performance. This improvement is important for critical applications like laboratory analysis, intrinsically safe aviation fuel quality and custody transfer markets and well as in new drug delivery systems.
Dr. Nader Najafi, ISSYS President and CEO, stated that, "The new patent for the microtube design and associated technology offers improved fluidic sensor and system designs and performance. The basic technology is already seeing use in industrial and chemical processing, fuel transfer, biopharmaceutical devices, as well as fuel cell systems. This improves the positioning of the other ISSYS' patents on the design, packaging, fabrication and application of microtube-based sensors, giving ISSYS better IP protection and offering additional barriers to market entry for the competition to overcome."
