A unique and innovative aspect of our approach is the practice of “virtual prototyping” or simulation-based design, whereby concepts and designs are evaluated using computational models first. A sub-selection, from among the designs studied, is then chosen for physical fabrication and testing. The key benefits of this approach are:

• Enables concept screening and exploration of large range of design possibilities
• Reduces need for time consuming and expensive experimental testing.
• Provides fundamental understanding of interaction between various complex phenomena (which leads to better understanding of success/failure and better designs).

In support of the “virtual prototyping” or “simulation-based design” approach, we have developed, over the course of a decade, proprietary computational tools to accurately model the complex interactions between fluidics, electrokinetics and chemistry that play a critical role in determining device performance. These include:

1. Pharos Software for System-Level Design of Application Specific Microfluidic Devices

2. CFD-ACE+ multiphysics solver