Title: Guidelines for the service-oriented design of microfluidic devices

Authors: Katarzyna Panikowska; Ashutosh Tiwari; Jeffrey Alcock; Christopher J. Turner

Addresses: Manufacturing and Materials Department, Cranfield University, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL, UK ' Manufacturing and Materials Department, Cranfield University, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL, UK ' Manufacturing and Materials Department, Cranfield University, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL, UK ' Manufacturing and Materials Department, Cranfield University, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL, UK

Abstract: Microfluidics is a relatively new and profitable domain. Constant development of new technologies and a growing demand for more versatile products are the cause of increasing domain complexity in this area. A review of existing research in the microfluidic devices domain has highlighted a lack of customer and service-orientation in their design. The developed guidelines detailed in this paper present a proposal for a general process for the design of microfluidics. The solution attempts to tackle the issue of sub-section interactions and brings the domain one step towards an 'experience economy' by incorporating service-considerations into the design process. Step by step instructions for the guidelines usage are given. The validation of the guidelines has been conducted with microfluidic designers, and the results prove that the guidelines are applicable.

Keywords: microfluidics; microfluidic devices; service-oriented design.

DOI: 10.1504/IJDE.2016.083908

International Journal of Design Engineering, 2016 Vol.6 No.4, pp.281 - 308

Accepted: 25 May 2016
Published online: 26 Apr 2017 *

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