Blood characteristic measurement

A method, comprising:

• introducing a blood sample through an input port of a testing cassette;
• applying an electrical potential difference over the blood sample in the testing cassette, the cassette comprising a microfluidic channel through which the blood sample flows from the input port, wherein the microfluidic channel comprises an array of at least three sensor areas, each of the at least three sensor areas comprising at least three electrodes located parallel to each other and perpendicular to a direction of flow in the microfluidic channel, wherein each sensor area comprises multiple electrodes;
• beginning as soon as the blood sample enters the input port of the testing cassette at a first end of the microfluidic channel:
• measuring an electrical signal passing through the blood sample as the blood sample flows from the first end of the microfluidic channel to obtain a pre-coagulation property of a measurement function;
• and
• measuring an electrical signal passing through the blood sample as the blood sample coagulates at a second end of the microfluidic channel to obtain a coagulation property of the measurement function as a function of time through the electrodes of the sensor areas;
• determining a first property and second property of the measurement function before and during coagulation, respectively;
• and
• correlating at least one of the first property and second property to a characteristic of the blood sample.

A microfluidic device for testing a blood sample, the device comprising:

• a cassette comprising:
• an input port to receive a blood sample;
• an electrode at the input port to detect introduction of the blood sample;
• a microfluidic channel through which the blood sample flows;
• an array of at least three sensor areas within the microfluidic channel, each of the at least three sensor areas comprising at least three electrodes located parallel to each other and perpendicular to a direction of flow in the microfluidic channel, wherein each sensor area comprises multiple electrodes;
• a pump to pump the blood sample through the microfluidic channel;
• a number of impedance sensors located in the microfluidic channel;
• and
• an electronic device interface to connect to a computing device;
• a processor;
• and
• a non-transitory machine-readable medium, in communication with the processor, having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the processor, cause the device to:
• apply an electrical potential difference over the blood sample using the electrode;
• measure an electrical signal passing through the blood sample as the blood sample flows from a first end of the microfluidic channel to obtain a pre-coagulation property of a measurement function;
• and
• measure an electrical signal passing through the blood sample as the blood sample coagulates at a second end of the microfluidic channel to obtain a coagulation property of the measurement function as a function of time through the multiple electrodes of the sensor areas;
• and
• correlate the measurement function to a characteristic of the blood sample.