Sensors based on the magnetoelastic (ME) effect have been developed for various applications, such as food safety, immunoassays, and health monitoring. A major obstacle to the widespread adoption of ME sensors is the poor understanding of the electrical impedances that constitute the system and how these impedances are influenced by surface loadings. Herein, we derive a lumped-element model to approximately predict the near-resonance electrical behavior of an ME sensor simultaneously loaded with a mass layer and a semi-infinite Newtonian liquid. For more extensive applicability, a hybrid model, combining a modified Butterworth-Van Dyke (mBVD) model and a transmission line model, is derived for the first time to predict the response of the ME sensor under various surface conditions, including rigid solids, fluids, viscoelastic media, or any combinations thereof. The theoretical models are experimentally verified for accuracy and used to quantitatively analyze the mass, viscosity, and modulus of loadings by extracting the electrical parameters. This modeling work is crucial for the development of ME sensors in various applications and for providing insights into the physical mechanisms of advanced devices.

BACKGROUND: High-quality control of the gas environment in incubators is crucial for in vitro embryo development, which requires high accuracy, fast recovery, and low gas consumption. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we propose a novel gas mixing and distribution system and method as an alternative solution for multi-chamber embryo incubators. METHODS: The system-based embryo incubator enables a controllable gas circulation process and a quantitative supply of CO2 and N2. To determine the optimal parameters for the mixing time and flow rate of the circulated gases, we conducted contrast experiments on the system-based incubator. To evaluate the performance of the gas system in the incubator, we conducted tests under four different initial conditions, simulating various practical application scenarios. Furthermore, we performed a mouse embryo assay to assess the system’s effectiveness. RESULTS: The results show that the system achieved a gas concentration accuracy of ± 0.2% (volume fraction) after stabilization, a minimum recovery time of 5 minutes, an average consumption of 8.9 L/d for N2 and 0.83 L/d for CO2 during routine operation, and a blastocyst rate exceeding 90% observed after 96 hours of culture in the incubator. CONCLUSION: The system and method demonstrate a significant advantage in terms of low gas consumption compared to existing incubators, while still maintaining high accuracy and fast recovery.

Gas plays a crucial role in cell culture as cells require a specific gas environment to maintain their growth, reproduction, and function. Here, we propose a gas supply system for tri-gas multi-channel cell incubators to meet the specific needs of various cells. The system utilizes a circulating gas supply method powered by air pumps for each chamber. Gas inflow from the cylinder is independently controlled by Mass Flow Controllers (MFCs), and a quantitative step-by-step adjustment control strategy is employed to calculate the volume of different gases being introduced. Through mixing simulations and experiments, we identified the SV static mixer with an L/D ratio of 2.5 as the optimal choice. To evaluate the concentration accuracy and gas consumption of the gas system, we conduct gas mixing and distribution experiments under different conditions. The results show that the system could achieve a concentration range of 0–100% for O₂ with an accuracy of ±0.5%, and a concentration range of 0–10% for CO₂ with an accuracy of ±0.1%. The daily gas consumption during cultivation is 3570 mL of N₂, 330 mL of CO₂, and 115 mL of O₂, significantly lower than conventional incubators. Overall, our system can effectively manage dynamic gas concentration changes, particularly in high O₂ concentration environments. It offers advantages such as low gas consumption, a wide concentration range, and high accuracy compared to existing incubators.

In assisted reproductive technology (ART), maintaining a uniform and stable temperature field within the culture space is critical for ensuring consistent embryo development quality. Traditional heating methods often overlook the inherent heat transfer characteristics of the system, resulting in significant temperature gradients across the culture space. This study introduces a quantitative optimization approach for the heating element, focusing on metal foil as a case study, to enhance temperature uniformity in the embryo chamber. We employ numerical simulation techniques to analyze the temperature distribution of the cultivation chamber based on the layout of the heating elements. After the chamber achieves heat transfer equilibrium, we segment the culture chamber structure into multiple isothermal regions and apply the law of energy conservation to establish a mathematical relationship between the changes in heating element resistance and temperature within each region. By iteratively adjusting the length or width of the metal foil in different areas, we optimize the temperature distribution of the overall structure, thereby improving the uniformity of the temperature field within the embryo chamber. The experimental results indicate that the optimized heating element reduces the temperature gradient within the culture chamber from 0.5 °C to less than 0.1 °C, providing robust technical support for enhancing embryo development quality and consistency.

Rapid hemostasis assessment is essential for managing acute coagulopathy, guiding anticoagulant therapy, and monitoring cardiac surgery patients. Although viscoelastic testing provides valuable guidance for early intervention, its widespread adoption is constrained by large blood usage (~2 mL), prolonged turnaround times (several hours), long assay durations (~25–40 min), and high costs. To overcome these limitations, we developed an innovative, all-in-one magnetoelastic (ME) sensing chip that enables systematic coagulation kinetics monitoring using only 46 μL of whole blood within 15 min. Featuring prepackaged lyophilized reagents and pumpless blood loading, this user-friendly chip is highly cost-effective for disposable use. The experimental results demonstrated good reproducibility for on-chip extrinsic coagulation activation, with clotting parameters maintaining coefficients of variation under 10%. Furthermore, clotting parameters derived from heparin monitoring results exhibited a strong linear correlation that compares favorably with the clinical standard (r = 0.986). Finally, sensitivity evaluation toward various blood components validated the sensor’s dual-mode characterization strategy for identifying coagulation factors and fibrin-related coagulopathies. The proposed ME sensing chip holds promise for bedside testing and flexible, on-demand coagulation monitoring across diverse clinical scenarios.

Background: Thromboelastography (TEG) assesses global coagulation, but its sensitivity for factor deficiencies is reportedly low and may depend on the contact activator. However, the differential TEG sensitivity of contact activators for individual factor deficiencies in whole blood containing platelets and red blood cells remains unclear. This study assessed the relative sensitivity of three contact activators for detecting single coagulation factor deficiencies in reconstituted whole-blood samples using TEG. Methods: Reconstituted whole-blood samples with graded activities of FII, FV, FVIII, FIX, FX, FXI, and FXII were prepared by mixing platelets, plasma, and red blood cells, and analyzed by TEG using kaolin-, ellagic acid-, and colloidal silica-based activators (KL, EA and CS). Relative sensitivity was assessed via: (1) the factor activity at which R time first showed a statistically significant prolongation; (2) a novel metric, Sensitivity for Detecting Factor Deficiencies (SDFD), defined as the normalized relative change in R time, enabling comparison without reference ranges. Results: KL showed the broadest and highest sensitivity, detecting significant prolongation at the mildest deficiency levels for most factors. EA showed intermediate-to-high sensitivity and the highest sensitivity for FXII. CS was the least sensitive except for FV. Notably, the activity threshold of KL for exceeding the reference range was substantially lower than that for statistical significance. Conclusions: The sensitivity of TEG to coagulation factor deficiencies is dependent on the contact activator. KL showed the highest overall sensitivity to factor deficiencies, while EA showed the highest sensitivity for FXII deficiency under the conditions of this study. R time of KL can be significantly prolonged yet still stay within the reference range. This mismatch calls for more sensitive TEG reagents and stricter ranges.