Machine learning based microfluidic sensing device for viscosity measurements

Abstract

A microfluidic sensing device utilizing fluid–structure interactions and machine learning algorithms is demonstrated. The deflection of microsensors due to fluid flow within a microchannel is analysed using machine learning algorithms to calculate the viscosity of Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids. Newtonian fluids (glycerol/water solutions) within a viscosity range of 5–100 cP were tested at flow rates of 15–105 mL h⁻¹ (γ = 60.5–398.4 s⁻¹) using a sample volume of 80–400 μL. The microsensor deflection data were used to train machine learning algorithms. Two different machine learning (ML) algorithms, support vector machine (SVM) and k-nearest neighbour (k-NN), were employed to determine the viscosity of unknown Newtonian fluids and whole blood samples. An average accuracy of 89.7% and 98.9% is achieved for viscosity measurement of unknown solutions using SVM and k-NN algorithms, respectively. The intelligent microfluidic viscometer presented here has the potential for automated, real-time viscosity measurements for rheological studies.