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AUGUST 2019 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 69 This paper was first presented at the IPC APEX EXPO 2019 Technical Conference and published in the 2019 Techni- cal Conference Proceedings. Ivan Li is no longer with the company. Jim Watkowski is VP of innovation circuitry solutions at MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA. Maddux Sy is applications manager at the MacDermid Alpha Circuitry Solutions Global Development Application Center in Taiwan. Benjamin Chao is business manager at the MacDermid Alpha Circuitry Solutions Global Development Application Center in Taiwan. 6. Y. Zhang, G. Ding, P. Cheng, and H. Wang, "Numeri- cal Simulation and Experimental Verification of Additive Distribution in Through-Silicon Via During Copper Filling Process," Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 162 (1), D62–D67, 2015. Saminda Dharmarathna is principal R&D chemist at MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA. William Bowerman is director of primary metallization at MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA. Kesheng Feng is research director, metallization, at MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA. To test the system, they used a microscope to moni- tor fluorescently labeled microparticles in liquid as they flowed through the microchannel. When acetylcholine was applied, the muscle contracted. The resulting force was transduced to a bar that was pushed down to close the valve, which successfully stopped the flow of liquid. When the acetylcholine was washed away, the muscle relaxed, the valve re- opened, and the fluid flowed again. "Now that we have shown that on-chip muscle-driven valves are possible, we can work on improve- ments that will make it practical," says first author Yo Tanaka from RIKEN BDR. "One option is to use cultured muscle cells. This might enable mass-production, better control, and flexibility in terms of shape." (Source: RIKEN) A team of researchers from the RIKEN Center for Bio- systems Dynamics Research (BDR) and Tokyo Denki Uni- versity has been developing a bio-MEMS (microelectro- mechanical systems with living material) that is driven by real muscle, which could be useful in surgical implants. Building on their on-chip micro- pump design, the new study is the proof-of-concept for an on-chip muscle-driven valve. The team initially determined that a small 1x3 cm sheet of earth- worm muscle could produce an average contractile force of about 1.5 mN over a two-minute period when stimulated by a very small amount of acetylcholine. Using this data, they build a microfluid channel and valve on a 2x2 cm microchip that could be controlled by the contraction/relaxation of earthworm muscle. Cyborg-like Microchip Valve Driven by Earthworm Muscle