Abstract: The appliance includes a brushhead having conductive fiber bristles by which a potential is applied to electrochemically activate a teeth whitening substance, such as peroxide, in the vicinity of the teeth. An impedance appliance system (62) or an optical appliance system (27) provides information concerning whether the conductive fiber bristles are adjacent a tooth surface or gum region. The impedance system uses an electrical signal through the fiber to determine the impedance of a circuit which includes the tooth or gum surface, the impedance being different, depending on whether a tooth or gum surface is in the circuit. The optical system generates a light beam which is directed to the mouth surface through a conductive fiber, the color of the returning light indicating whether the surface is a tooth or gum region. If a tooth is determined, the teeth whitening substance is activated at that bristle, while if gum tissue is determined, the teeth whitening substance is not activated at that bristle.

Abstract: The invention relates to different designs of a microelectronic device comprising an array of heating elements (HE) with local driving units (CU2) and optionally with an array of sensor elements (SE) adjacent to a sample chamber (SC). By applying appropriate currents to the heating elements (HE), the sample chamber can be heated according to a desired temperature profile. The local driving units comprise means for compensating variations of their individual characteristics.

Abstract: A transistor control circuit (74) comprises a source-gated thin film transistor (70), an input for receiving a drive voltage representing a desired control of the source-gated transistor and a current source (82) for causing a known current to pass through the source-gated transistor (70). A first capacitor (78) stores a resulting gate-source voltage of the source-gated transistor when the known current is passed through the source-gated transistor. The drive voltage is modified using the resulting gate-source voltage, and the modified voltage is used in the control of the source-gated transistor. This control can provide a translational shift in the operating characteristics of the transistor, and it has been found that this can compensate for ageing of the transistor, for non-uniformity between different devices, and for temperature variations.

Abstract: The appliance includes a brushhead having conductive fiber bristles by which a potential is applied to electrochemically activate a teeth whitening substance, such as peroxide, in the vicinity of the teeth. An impedance appliance system (62) or an optical appliance system (27) provides information concerning whether the conductive fiber bristles are adjacent a tooth surface or gum region. The impedance system uses an electrical signal through the fiber to determine the impedance of a circuit which includes the tooth or gum surface, the impedance being different, depending on whether a tooth or gum surface is in the circuit. The optical system generates a light beam which is directed to the mouth surface through a conductive fiber, the color of the returning light indicating whether the surface is a tooth or gum region. If a tooth is determined, the teeth whitening substance is activated at that bristle, while if gum tissue is determined, the teeth whitening substance is not activated at that bristle.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a device and detector for monitoring a plurality of discrete fluorescence signals, in particular for DNA sequencing by use of fluorescently labeled nucleotides. The particular detector (118) is proposed comprising a plurality of pixels (130) for individually detecting said fluorescence signals from the plurality of fluorescent signal sources (104), wherein each pixel (130) comprises a predetermined number of at least two detection elements (D1, Dn) for detecting a received fluorescent signal and for generating detection signals. Further, a signal conversion circuit (140) is provide for receiving said detection signals from said at least two detection elements (D1, Dn) and for generating a pixel output signal indicating which of said at least two detection elements (D1, Dn) generated the strongest detection signal.

Abstract: The present invention provides a device for DNA sequencing, comprising DNA base calling at an early stage in the detection and processing of time controlled fluorescence detection for DNA sequencing applications.

Abstract: The invention relates to a microelectronic device for manipulating a sample, the device comprising an array of actuator units (AU) and an array of sensitive units (SU). The actuator units (AU) may particularly exert dielectrophoretic forces on a sample (1) in an adjacent sample chamber, and the sensitive units (SU) optionally measure properties of said sample. Furthermore, the actuator units (AU) are linked to a set of power lines (PL) and the sensitive units (SU) are linked to a set of signal lines (SL), wherein the routing of these lines is such that the effects of parasitic couplings are minimized for a given set of alternating electrical power signals on the power lines. The power lines (PL) may particularly be supplied with alternating electrical signals that are identical besides a phase shift. Optionally, the couplings between the power lines and the signal lines are adapted to provide a maximal compensation of cross-talk effects.

Abstract: The invention relates to different designs of a microelectronic device comprising an array of heating elements (HE) with local driving units (CU2) and optionally with an array of sensor elements (SE) adjacent to a sample chamber (SC). By applying appropriate currents to the heating elements (HE), the sample chamber can be heated according to a desired temperature profile. The local driving units comprise means for compensating variations of their individual characteristics.

Abstract: The invention relates to different designs of a microelectronic device comprising heating electrodes (HE) and field electrodes (FE) that have effect in the same sub-region of a sample chamber. By applying appropriate voltages to the field electrodes (FE), an electrical field (E) can be generated in the sample chamber. By applying appropriate currents to the heating electrodes (HE), the sample chamber can be heated according to a desired temperature profile. The heating electrodes (HE) may optionally be operated as field electrodes such that they generate an electrical field in the sample chamber, too.

Abstract: An integrated microfluidic device having a number of chambers (11-MN) for heating a fluid, a number of electrical heating elements (R) for heating different ones of the chambers, a controller for controlling the heating elements to vary a temperature of the fluid in the chambers repeatedly through a cycle of different temperatures, the controller being arranged to time the temperature cycle for a given one of the chambers to be out of phase with temperature cycles of others of the chambers. This can help reduce peak power consumption, and thus reduce unwanted voltage drops on supply lines. These can cause loss of precision in heating and sensing circuits. The device can comprise a low temperature polysilicon on a glass substrate. The controller can be coupled to the heating elements using an active matrix of control lines and switches (T2).

Abstract: An active matrix display device comprises an array of display pixels, each pixel comprising: a current-driven light emitting display element (2); a drive transistor (22) for driving a current through the display element; a storage capacitor (24) for storing a voltage to be used for addressing the drive transistor; and an addressing transistor (16) for coupling data from a data line (6) to the pixel during pixel addressing. The addressing transistor (16) comprises a phototransistor, and the data line (6) is used for external monitoring of the phototransistor. This device design uses a pixel-addressing transistor (16) as the optical feedback element. This addressing transistor is a fundamental requirement of an active matrix-addressing scheme, and its use as a feedback element can therefore avoid any addition pixel complexity to implement an optical feedback function.

Abstract: An active matrix display device comprises an array of display pixels, each pixel comprising a current-driven light emitting display element (2), a drive transistor (22) for driving a current through the display element (2) and a storage capacitor (30) for storing a voltage to be used for addressing the drive transistor (22). A discharge transistor (36) is used for discharging the storage capacitor (30) thereby to switch off the drive transistor in dependence on the light output of the display element (2). Reading circuitry (70) is used for monitoring the charge on a discharge capacitor (40), the pixel data is corrected in response to the reading circuitry measurements. This can extend the lifetime of the display.

Abstract: The invention relates to a microelectronic device with an array (10) of field electrodes (11) that are individually addressable and can for example generate dielectrophoretic forces on particles (2) above the array (10). In a preferred embodiment, the field electrodes (1) can selectively be put to one of two phase-inverted potentials (+,?) or a floating potential (Z). Various space saving circuits are described that allow the operation of the field electrodes (11) with a minimal number of components.

Abstract: The invention relates to a device for analyzing one or more samples for the presence, amount or identity of one or more target molecules in the samples, comprising one or more capture sites whereby the device comprises a gas evolving means. The gas evolved by the gas evolving means moves unbound target molecules away from the capture site and therefore helps to increase the efficacy of the analysis.

Abstract: An active matrix display device comprises an array of display pixels, each pixel comprising a current-driven light emitting display element (2), a drive transistor (22) for driving a current through the display element (2) and a storage capacitor (30) for storing a voltage to be used for addressing the drive transistor (22). A discharge transistor (36) is used for discharging the storage capacitor (30) thereby to switch off the drive transistor in dependence on the light output of the display element (2). The storage capacitor (30) is adapted to store a voltage which is a function of the threshold voltage of the drive transistor (22). In this way, two-level compensation is provided for threshold voltage variations of the drive transistor, one using a current sampling approach and one using optical feedback. This can extend the lifetime of the display.

Abstract: In an array for temperature controlled cells the cells are driven in an active matrix array. A temperature processing array may be employed in biochip, such as underneath a biosensor or underneath reaction chambers. Due to the active matrix complex driver circuitry may be positioned outside the actual array of cells. Each cell is provided with a switch for coupling the cell circuitry to the driver circuitry. When coupled to the driver circuitry, a memory element in the cell circuitry may be provided with a heating setting. Then, the cell circuitry is uncoupled from the driver circuitry and a heating element is controlled to heat the cell in accordance with the setting stored in the memory element.

Abstract: A transistor control circuit (74) comprises a source-gated thin film transistor (70), an input for receiving a drive voltage representing a desired control of the source-gated transistor and a current source (82) for causing a known current to pass through the source-gated transistor (70). A first capacitor (78) stores a resulting gate-source voltage of the source-gated transistor when the known current is passed through the source-gated transistor The drive voltage is modified using the resulting gate-source voltage, and the modified voltage is used in the control of the source-gated transistor This control can provide a translational shift in the operating characteristics of the transistor, and it has been found that this can compensate for ageing of the transistor, for non-uniformity between different devices, and for temperature variations.

Abstract: Physical barriers (210) are present between neighboring pixels (200) on a circuit substrate (100) of an active-matrix display device, such as an electroluminescent display formed with LEDs (25) of organic semiconductor materials. The invention forms at least parts of the barriers (210) with metal or other electrically-conductive material (240) that is insulated (40) from the LEDs but connected to the circuitry (4, 5, 6, 9, 140, 150, 160, T1, T2, Tm, Tg, Ch etc.) within the substrate (100). This conductive barrier material (240) may back up or replace, for example, matrix addressing lines (150) and/or form an additional component either within the pixel array or outside. The additional component comprising the conductive barrier material (240) is advantageously a capacitor (Ch), or an inductor (L) or transformer (W), or even an aerial.

Abstract: Physical barriers (210) are present between neighbouring pixels (200) on a circuit substrate (100) of an active-matrix electroluminescent display device, particularly with LEDs (25) of organic semiconductor materials. In order to reduce parasitic capacitance in the circuit substrate, the invention forms these barriers (210) with metal or other electrically conductive material (240) that provides at least part of the signal lines (160) at a higher level than the circuit substrate (100). This conductive barrier material (240) is connected to the matrix circuitry within the substrate (100) but is insulated (40) at least at the sides adjacent to the LEDs (25). Preferably, an inter-capacitance guard line (9) is included in the circuit substrate (100) between the signal lines (160) and the circuitry in the substrate (100).

Abstract: Physical barriers (210) are present between neighbouring pixels (200) on a circuit substrate (100) of an active-matrix electroluminescent display device, particularly with LEDs (25) of organic semiconductor materials. The invention forms these barriers (210) with metal or other electrically-conductive material (240) that serves as an interconnection between a first circuit element (21, 4, 5, 6, 140, 150, 160, T1, T2, Tm, Tg, Ch) of the circuit substrate and a second circuit element (400, 400s, 23), for example, a sensor (400s) of a sensor array supported over the pixel array. The conductive barrier material (240) is insulated (40) at the sides of the barriers adjacent to the LEDs and has an un-insulated top connection area (240t) at which the second circuit element is connected to the conductive barrier material (240).