Patented technology

Patented technology

The measurement method inside every Dropometer is protected by granted patents in the United States and Canada. Both name Dr. Alidad Amirfazli as inventor and are owned by Droplet Smart Tech Inc., the company that trades as Droplet Lab.

Read the patent records See Dropometer
Granted patents US 10,753,842 CA 3,019,598

United States and Canada

Jurisdictions
United States and Canada
Inventor
Dr. Alidad Amirfazli Dr. Alidad Amirfazli
Owner
Droplet Smart Tech Inc.
Priority
4 April 2016

Scope discipline

One invention, two granted patent families

Both patents descend from the same priority application, US provisional 62/317,780, filed 4 April 2016. The patents identify ownership and protected technology; they should not be described as performance validation or worldwide patent coverage.

United States · Granted 25 August 2020

US 10,753,842

Systems and methods for measuring physiochemical properties of interfaces using droplets or bubbles

Owner Droplet Smart Tech Inc.

Assignment recorded with the USPTO on 28 March 2025, reel/frame 070658/0669.

Read the full patent View the USPTO record

Covers a measurement system in which a smartphone or tablet is held in a support facing a removable structure carrying a surface and an adjustable syringe holder. The syringe places a droplet or bubble in the camera field of view; the device photographs it, detects the edge, and derives the surface property by matching that edge to a solution of the Laplace equation.

Key details

Inventor
Dr. Alidad Amirfazli
Properties covered
Interfacial and surface tension, contact angle (static, advancing, receding), solid surface energy, sliding angle, and droplet or bubble volume, surface area, and apex curvature.
Priority
4 April 2016 · US provisional 62/317,780
Filed
4 April 2017 · application 15/479,213
Granted
25 August 2020
Anticipated expiry
4 April 2037, subject to maintenance fees

Canada · Granted 9 December 2025

CA 3,019,598

Measurement of physical properties using a mobile device

Owner Droplet Smart Tech Inc.

Recorded with CIPO on 25 July 2025, recordal 5902285, and listed as owner of record on the granted patent.

Read the full patent View the CIPO record

The Canadian counterpart of US 10,753,842, entered from international application PCT/CA2017/050412. Its independent claims cover the same system and method: a mobile device in a support, an adjustable syringe holder placing a droplet or bubble in the camera field of view, and edge detection matched to a solution of the Laplace equation.

Key details

Inventor
Dr. Alidad Amirfazli
Claims
19, covering both the system and the method
Priority
4 April 2016 · US provisional 62/317,780
International filing
4 April 2017 · PCT/CA2017/050412, published as WO 2017/173536
Canadian national entry
1 October 2018
Granted
9 December 2025
Anticipated expiry
4 April 2037, subject to maintenance fees

Patent marking

This page identifies the patents that cover Droplet Lab products, as notice to the public.

  • DropometerUS 10,753,842; CA 3,019,598

Products may be covered by additional patents or pending applications. This list is updated as patents are granted or expire.

About the inventor

Dr. Alidad Amirfazli is Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at York University and the inventor named on both patents. He assigned them to Droplet Smart Tech Inc. in 2025 and contributes expert commentary across the Surface Science Hub. We note the relationship wherever his commentary appears.

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