TINY CHANNELS CARVED IN PLASTIC ENABLE MEDICAL TESTS ON A CD Below are links to three video files demonstrating some of the processes involved in the work of Marc Madou, professor of materials science and engineering at Ohio State, and designer of a new approach that would us compact disks (CDs) as devices for performing medical tests and assays. The three videos were photographed using a strobe light to capture the fluid movement and mixing activity while the CD spins at high speeds.

This video file shows the mixing of two fluids inside a chamber (left) while the overflow is captured in a reservoir on the right. [File is displacement.mpg/3.6 megs] This video shows how the fluids stored in two separate chambers will automatically mix once the spinning CD reaches a preset speed. [File is mixing.mpg/14.7 megs] This video shows how the fluids stored in five separate chambers will automatically mix. The speed of the spinning CD determines when each fluid in a specific reservoir will flow into the outermost chamber. [File is tp3_web.mpg/12 megs] Return to related research story. Return to Research News website.