Military enlists microfluidic hospital on-a-chip

The aim of a $1.6 million Office of Naval Research program is to create a microfluidic hospital on-a-chip by 2012 that can be deployed on the battlefield to monitor a soldier's injuries and administer medications. Today injured soldiers are left where they lie -- after being shot, stunned or made victims of shrapnel wounds -- until "hot zones" cool off enough for medics to reach them. But if each solider wore a hospital on-a-chip as a part of their standard-issue gear, then their condition could be assessed with microfluidic devices that harness MEMS techniques to diagnose and administer appropriate drugs to stabilize the injured soldiers' condition until medics can reach them.

ADAN CHAPARRO
CI:17501640
EES
DIRECCION WEB: http://www.memsinvestorjournal.com/