In this paper, we present a simple yet smart electro-fluidic platform that enables automatic time control in a very affordable and simple manner. The system is based on the electric detection of a fluid front when it crosses a particular area of a paper strip. The detection can be used to trigger the sequential activation or deactivation of different electronic modules (heating of molecular diagnostics, time interval detection, or readout of test results) with an accuracy within the range of minutes. The whole system is implemented with a few number of discrete electronic components such as transistors, resistors and capacitors that, if required, can be totally fabricated using printed electronics technology. This platform opens new possible applications for paper-based point-of care (POC) diagnostic devices and enables the possibility of these devices to introduce time control functions without the need for any external instrumentation and human action.

在本文中，我们提出了一个简单而又智能的电流体平台，该平台能够以非常实惠和简单的方式实现自动时间控制。该系统基于当流体穿过纸带的特定区域时对流体前沿的电检测。该检测可用于触发不同电子模块的顺序激活或去激活（分子诊断的加热，时间间隔检测或测试结果的读出），精确度在几分钟之内。整个系统由少数几个分立的电子组件实现，例如晶体管，电阻器和电容器，如果需要，可以使用印刷电子技术完全制造出来。