The device, a type of microfluidic chip, uses a simple circuit pattern with just three electrodes to assign a unique seven-bit digital identification number to each cell passing through the channels on the chip.

Fatih Sarioglu, an assistant professor in the Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, says it’s a way to digitize the information from such chips. The ultimate goal is to use these inexpensive chips to conduct sophisticated medical testing outside hospitals and clinics.