A flow focusing microfluidic device with an integrated micro coulter particle counter for sequential production and characterization of size tunable microbubbles

摘要

Flow-focusing microfluidic devices (FFMDs) provide a means to customize microbubble (MB) populations for imaging or therapy. FFMDs produce monodisperse MBs characterized by relatively low production rates, large diameters and short lifetimes compared to batch methods of MB production. Previously, we proposed exploiting these qualities in the context of tPA delivery for more rapid blood clot erosion where the device is integrated into a catheter to mitigate the impact of low MB count and lifetime (Dixon et al. IEEE IUS 2015). Conventionally, MBs produced by FFMDs are characterized optically; however, this is incompatible with a catheter application. In this work, we demonstrate integrated Coulter-based counting and sizing of MBs produced in situ.