number that sets you apart from everybody else on the network. Researchers at the Georgia

Institute of Technology are using a similar principle to track cells being sorted on microfluidic

chips. Microfluidic chips use physical or biological properties to separate cancer cells,

bacteria or viruses from other cells and particles in a fluid. Using a simple circuit pattern,

the new identification technique assigns a unique seven-bit digital number to each cell

passing through the channels on the chip. The hybrid system also captures information

about the sizes of the cells, and how fast they are moving. That identification and information

could allow automated counting and digital analysis of the cells being sorted. This research

is providing the electronic intelligence that could one day allow inexpensive labs on a

chip to conduct sophisticated medical testing outside the confines of hospitals and clinics.

This is John Toon for Georgia Tech Research News.