ISSYS, Inc. awarded patent on resonant microfluidic sensor design

Sept. 9, 2011

YPSILANTI, Mich. - Integrated Sensing Systems, Inc. (ISSYS) announced that the U.S. Patent Office has granted it a utility patent (US 7,921,737) "Microfluidic Device and Method of Operation.”

Dr. Nader Najafi, ISSYS President and CEO, stated that, "The new patent and associated technology offers improved fluidic sensor system designs. The basic technology is already seeing use in industrial chemical processing and biomedical devices, as well as fuel cell systems. This reinforces the other ISSYS patents on the design, packaging, fabrication and application of microtube-based sensors, giving ISSYS comprehensive IP protection and offering a competitive barrier to market entry."

According to Doug Sparks, Executive VP of ISSYS, this patent describes a new resonant microtube design that is more resistant to packaging stress than previous designs. This new design enables the MEMS chip to be mounted to low cost plastic or smaller metal packages that might be subjected to torsional mounting stress. These sensor chips are used by ISSYS to produce Coriolis mass flow meters, density and chemical concentration sensors, fuel quality, drug infusion systems, 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.

ISSYS manufactures advanced MEMS technologies for industrial, medical devices, microfluidic and scientific analytical sensing applications.