Addressing the global challenges of COVID-19 and other pulmonary diseases with microfluidic technology

COVID-19, an infectious pulmonary disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has profoundly impacted the world, motivating researchers across a broad spectrum of academic disciplines to gain a deeper understanding and develop effective therapies to this disease. This article presents an engineering perspective on how microfluidic technologies may address some of the challenges presented by COVID-19 and other pulmonary diseases. In particular, this article highlights urgent needs in pulmonary medicine, with an emphasis on technological innovations in the microfluidic manipulation of particles and fluids, and how these innovations may contribute to the study, diagnosis, and therapy of pulmonary diseases.