Portable high gain fluorescence detection system

An apparatus for receiving a microfluidic cartridge and performing a fluorescence assay on a liquid sample in one or more detection chambers of said microfluidic cartridge, the apparatus comprising:

• a) an inclined mounting plate with pneumatic distribution manifold, said pneumatic distribution manifold for distributing positive and negative pneumatic pressure to a pneumatic interface port adapted for sealingly interfacing with said microfluidic cartridge, and having a thermal module attached thereto, said thermal module having one or more heating elements with surfaces configured for contactingly interfacing with said microfluidic cartridge, at least one said heating element having a surface modified as a mirror face for forming a thermo-optical interface with said microfluidic cartridge;
• b) a floating stage mounted on said inclined mounting plate, said floating stage with chassis and docking bay for receiving said microfluidic cartridge therein and a clamping mechanism for reversibly urging said microfluidic cartridge to contactingly engage with said thermal module and pneumatic interface port;
• and
• c) a scanning detector head with one or more optical channels and drive train, each optical channel with an objective lens, wherein said scanning detector head is slideably mounted on a pair of guiderails on said floating stage and powered for scanning across said one or more detection chambers of a microfluidic cartridge in said docking bay, and is configured with an embedded microprocessor for detecting and processing fluorescent signals emitted therein.