Microvisk Technologies Analyzes Microchips with Simulation

Microvisk Technologies, North Wales, UK

Microvisk Technologies develops and manufactures devices for measuring blood viscosity using the power of Micro Electronic Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and a radical new technique stemming from futuristic research on microtechnology. Older hand-held devices on the market work by inducing a chemical reaction that is picked up by electrodes coated with componds.

The MEMS-based micro-cantilever devices produced by Microvisk are manufactured as flat structures on a wafer-scale until the final stage of production. The highly flexible and deformable micro-cantilevers are controlled by CMOS (Complementary metaloxide-semiconductor) type signals and form the basis for Microvisk’s unique fluid micro-probe for determining the rheometric properties of minute samples.

COMSOL Multiphysics enabled researchers to analyze the microchips mechanically, thermally, and electro-statically. They can analyze each individual material as well as all of the materials tangled together and reacting to the fluid. Using that information, Microvisk was able to optimize their design for technology that would provide reliable testing in a simple, hand-held device.