On-line tracking and stimulation of swimming microorganism by on-chip microrobot

We have proposed a novel approach for applying mechanical stimulation to freely swimming microorganism inside of the microfluidic chip. Our approach is mainly based on continuously tracking the swimming microorganism under the microscope using a high-speed online vision sensor, and then applying the mechanical stimulation using high-speed on-chip microactuator. To realize our approach, we have developed a system that is capable of effectively observe and mechanically stimulate a local point in the swimming microorganism. The design process and the system control architecture of the developed system were also described in this paper. Finally, the developed system was applied to track and stimulate actual swimming Paramecium.