Francisco J. Tovar-Lopez
Welcome to my professional portfolio! With over 20+ years of experience as a biomedical engineer specializing in microfluidics, sensors, and MedTech innovation, I am dedicated to advancing healthcare technologies and fostering global collaboration.
< MBM is my research program exploring how geometry, forces and multiscale flow encode a mechanical information layer in blood and soft tissues. By extracting these mechanical diagnostic signatures, we can detect physiological and pathological states that biochemical markers alone cannot reveal. I integrate microfluidics, viscoelastic flows, CFD modelling and real-time sensing to measure how cells and plasma respond to controlled mechanical fields. This work is now evolving toward identifying and standardizing mechanical signatures across platelets, red blood cells, plasma rheology and disease states.
Collaboration / Services
- Independent technical advisory and pre-sales support for high-value biomedical and bioprocessing equipment decisions.
- I help organizations reduce technical and implementation risk by validating whether equipment, sensors, and systems are fit for real operating conditions — beyond datasheet specifications.
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Typical engagements include:
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Pre-purchase technical risk assessment
Independent evaluation of biomedical, bioprocessing, and laboratory equipment to identify flow, sensing, scaling, and integration risks before capital expenditure. -
Technical pre-sales and customer interface support
Acting as an independent or embedded technical advisor between equipment manufacturers, distributors, and end-users to clarify assumptions, limitations, and deployment constraints. -
Implementation and early-stage troubleshooting advisory
Technical guidance during commissioning and early operation to prevent performance loss, measurement errors, or process instability. -
Independent second-opinion reviews
Objective technical assessment when internal teams or vendors disagree on equipment selection, validation strategy, or system performance. -
Biomedical and medical device engineering support
Conceptual and applied support in medical device design, microfabrication, microfluidics, mechanical systems, and electronics. -
Sensors, instrumentation, and measurement reliability
Advisory on sensor selection, placement, calibration, and data interpretation to ensure measurements reflect real physical and biological conditions. -
Scientific and technical project support
Project definition, technical documentation, proposal development, and critical review of scientific and technical reports.
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Pre-purchase technical risk assessment
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Engagement model
Engagements are project-based or time-boxed, with clear scope and deliverables. Services are provided independently or in transparent collaboration with manufacturers and research teams. - Initial conversations focus on understanding technical risk, system constraints, and decision timelines.
Focused on cardiovascular systems, blood-contacting devices, bioprocessing, and advanced biomedical instrumentation.
Patents - Artificial Heart Sealing
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Patent Number: 8376927
Solution for static seal structures in pump housings to prevent compressed air leaks.
Patents - Platelet Aggregation
Patent Number: US20120058500A1
Innovative design for inducing platelet aggregation at specific locations for diagnostic purposes.
Awards
- Distinguished Mexican 2024
- Adjunct Professor, Monash University
- ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA)
- RMIT Vice-Chancellor Fellowship
- Overseas PhD Scholarship, Mexican Government
Lab-on-a-Chip
Foundational MBM device: A microfluidic operator that uses geometry and controlled shear gradients to reveal hidden mechanical signatures in platelet activation.
This Lab-on-a-Chip (Lab on a Chip 2010) was an early example of what would later become my Mechanical Information Layer framework. By shaping flow fields and stress distributions, the device amplifies subtle differences in platelet mechanics, converting weak biophysical signals into measurable diagnostic patterns.
Technologies: Parameterised design (Python, C++), photolithography, CFD/FEA modelling, real-time imaging.
Lab-on-a-Chip
A device to study cellular mechanotransduction.
During my PhD, I observed platelets reacting to blood flow acceleration. A decade later, my foundational work enabled discoveries on Piezo1 strain sensing, ATP signaling, and clot formation mechanisms under extreme conditions. New staff designed and fabricated the device to test mechanotransduction hypothesis for cell deffects.Advanced fluid manipulation (Droplets)
Droplet-on-soft shuttle A novel way of transporting droplets of fluids from diferent species using a soft "shuttle" and sequential activation of electric potential (electrowetting). Droplet velocity is characterized by centroid tracing using deep learning algorithms for image processing.
Advanced sensing
< Differential microwave sensor.
This article presents a microwave sensor for detecting the water volume fraction in the glycerol–water solutions. The sensor is designed using a planar transmission line terminated with a series RLC resonator. The proposed sensor offers a high sensitivity, compact, real-time, and robust measurement platform with potential application in bio-electronics, biofuel characterizations, and food industry.
Sensors for Biomedical and Environmental Challenges
This review article presents unique perspectives on coming challenges such as antibiotic resistance and how emerging technologies such as microfluidics and novel sensors, will help in addressing these challenges. Editor's choice