Microfluidic Product Development: How to Integrate Design for Manufacture from Benchtop to Commercial Scale

Held in conjunction with Lab-on-a-Chip and Microfluidics World Congress 2022

12 Dec 2022, at 12:00-13:30 in Long Beach, California

Training Course Title:  Microfluidic Product Development: How to Integrate Design for Manufacture from Benchtop to Commercial Scale

Training Course Date: Monday - December 12, 2022

Training Course Timings: 12:00pm to 1:30pm -- Caribbean Room

Scope and Coverage of this Training Course:

As a program moves out of a research lab and into product development, many run into obstacles transitioning their novel technology from concept to a fully functional and scalable product. In this course, attendees will get a deep dive into each of the four phases for development for microfluidic applications and how to utilize these phases for optimal product success.

Often, early-stage microfluidic systems use research grade fabrication of the fluidic cartridges along with expensive, high-quality analytical instrumentation. As the program transitions to product development, the requirements shift to building a system that meets the analytical precision, accuracy and dynamic range required for a marketable product. This means that the instrument, components, and engineering need to strike a balance between cost and performance. The overall product design must address the user experience not only for successful adoption, but also to meet regulatory requirements for medical diagnostic products. As part of the system, the microfluidic cartridge must perform robustly in the instrument, with a very low cost of manufacture, including reagents.

However, achieving this balance and reaching the necessary cost of manufacturing for scale is not usually addressed until late in the development cycle. This leads to costly and time-consuming changes. All this could be mitigated or avoided entirely if planned for in the early stages of development.

Using real-world examples and case studies, attendees will see firsthand how implementing the phased development approach with DFM can save them time, save them money, reduce their risks and set up their product for success.

Experts Dr. Leanna Levine, CEO ALine, Inc. and Michael Botta, Director of Engineering Services, Natch Plastics, Inc., will teach attendees to evaluate their own programs, identifying potential risks and design hurdles, along with planning for production of their parts from a few hundred units to the millions.