Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1047182
24 SMT007 MAGAZINE I NOVEMBER 2018 one told us that we should be engaging with the local National Health Service (NHS) and other local regulatory authorities to get something adopted. When we collaborate with low- and middle-income countries, the whole idea is to talk with either the local communities or non- governmental organizations that deliver health care in those rural communities. In the U.S. healthcare system, which I'm not as familiar with, you make a strong point. We should talk with insurance companies, but we haven't engaged in that yet. Feinberg: I would think you might want to do that, especially with the larger ones, but in any case, I wish you very good luck. I certainly would like you to continue to follow this. I'm very interested in your progress on this as time goes on. Moschou: Thank you very much. Andy Shaughnessy: This is Andy Shaughnessy with the Design007 Magazine. I was wonder- ing as far as the design goes, do the design- ers need more training in this for lab-on-PCB? It sounds like something they're not just going to be able to figure it out. What kind of learn- ing curve is it, and is anybody teaching this right now? Moschou: At this stage, the best person to teach about it is me. Most of the people that have graduated and are graduating from my group are trained on how to do this. It's not straight- forward because only my group and a few others in the world are working on this tech- nology. Since it's not mainstream yet, we are using conventional design software that you use for PCBs. However, we use it in a noncon- ventional way. There is no library of microflu- idic components—we make our own. There are no design rules in the design rule check for microfluidic components. Again, we have to improvise and do it manually with advice from me and more experienced researchers. If people are interested and want to learn more, they can contact me. It is within my intentions to write a textbook to inform people on how to do this and start forming an educa - tional package at some point. It's close to PCB design, but additional knowledge needs to be included. We are also planning a one-week summer school in the summer of 2019 in our recently founded Research Centre for Bios ensors, Bioelectronics, and Biodevices (C3Bio) at the University of Bath, U.K. Shaughnessy: It's very cool stuff. I've been reading some of the things you've written, and it's really good. Patty Goldman: For you guys at Vexos, how does this fit in with your business? I'm just curious about your thoughts on it. Fricbergs: It's certainly an interesting technol- ogy. We've actually had a previous customer who attempted to develop something similar. I don't think the product was ultimately success- ful for one reason or another, but we produced the surrounding device. Basically, the electron- ics, the PCBA, and we did the integration of the plastics and various tubes and valves that were used to support the specimen samples. The actual heart of the system was still rather proprietary with the customer. As electronics get smaller, it certainly poses some manufac- turing challenges. We're seeing the shrinking on a yearly basis, the shrinking and compact- ing of designs that ultimately can be addressed through the improvement of our own technol- ogy, and moving up with our technology road- map, to ensure we can build products with a smaller component footprint. From a housing point of view and from a base point of view, it's not something that, if properly designed, poses a tremendous Tom Reilly