Microfluidic cytometers with integrated on-chip optical systems for red blood cell and platelet counting

A microfluidic cytometer with integrated on-chip optical systems was designed for red blood cell (RBC) and platelet (PLT) counting. The design, fabrication, and characterization of the microfluidic cytometer with on-chip optical signal detection were described. With process using only a single mask, the device that integrates optical fibers and on-chip microlens with microfluidic channels on a polydimethylsiloxane layer by standard soft photolithography. This compact structure increased the sensitivity of the device and eliminated time-consuming free-space optical alignments. The microfluidic cytometer was used to count red blood cells and platelets. Forward scatter and extinction were collected simultaneously for each cell. Experimental results indicated that the microfluidic cytometer exhibited comparable performance with a conventional cytometer and demonstrated superior capacity to detect on-chip optical signals in a highly compact, simple, truly portable, and low-cost format that is well suitable for point-of-care clinical diagnostics.