1. A system for separating or concentrating particles suspended in a fluid, the system comprising:
a first device having an inlet, a chamber, and an outlet of the first device, the first device being configured to receive the fluid at the inlet, capture particles of a first size range urged by centrifugal forces to an outer portion of a vortex flow of the fluid in the chamber and expel the fluid and remaining particles urged by hydrodynamic pressure forces from the chamber through the outlet of the first device, wherein the chamber of the first device includes at least one collection cavity positioned to capture the particles of the first size range in the outer portion of the vortex flow and selectively placed in an open or closed state;
a second device having an inlet connected to the outlet of the first device in a cascaded configuration to sequentially separate particles, a chamber, and an outlet of the second device, the second device being configured to receive the fluid at the inlet, capture particles of a second size range urged by centrifugal forces to an outer portion of a vortex flow of the fluid in the chamber and expel the fluid and remaining particles urged by hydrodynamic pressure forces from the chamber through the outlet of the second device; and,
a pump operated to maintain fluid velocity of a continuous flow of the fluid at a level sufficient to generate and maintain the vortex flow in each of at least the first device and the second device.
2. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the chamber of the second device includes at least one collection cavity positioned to capture the particles of a second size range in the outer portion of the vortex flow.
3. The system as set forth in claim 2 wherein the at least one collection cavity is selectively placed in an open or closed state.
4. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the chamber of the first device is provided with a second outlet to a collection well, the second outlet of the first device being positioned to capture the particles of the first size range in the outer portion of the vortex flow.
5. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the chamber of the second device is provided with a second outlet to a collection well, the second outlet of the second device being positioned to capture the particles of the second size range in the outer portion of the vortex flow.
6. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the particles in the first size range are larger than the particles in the second size range.
7. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the first and second devices are tuned to operate as a function of only at least one of flow velocity of the fluid, channel width of respective inlets, viscosity of the fluid, and radius of curvature of respective chambers.
8. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the system is configured on a micro-scale to process particles.
9. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the system is configured on a macro-scale to process particles.
10. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the fluid is a liquid.
11. A system for separating or concentrating particles suspended in a fluid, the system comprising:
a system inlet for receiving the fluid;
a plurality of devices cascaded to sequentially separate particles of varying size, each device comprising an inlet to receive the fluid, a chamber to capture particles in a selected size range urged by centrifugal forces to an outer portion of a vortex flow of the fluid in the chamber, the chamber including at least one collection cavity positioned to capture the particles of the selected size range in the outer portion of the vortex flow and selectively placed in an open or closed state, and an outlet to expel the fluid and remaining particles urged by hydrodynamic pressure forces from the chamber; and,
a pump operated to maintain fluid velocity of a continuous flow of the fluid at a level sufficient to generate and maintain the vortex flow in each of the plurality of devices.
12. The system as set forth in claim 11 further comprising a system outlet.
13. The system as set forth in claim 12 wherein the system outlet is operative as an outlet for the last device in the system.
14. The system as set forth in claim 12 wherein the system inlet and system outlet are connected.
15. The system as set forth in claim 11 wherein the cascaded plurality of devices sequentially process particles as a function of particle size in a descending manner.
16. The system as set forth in claim 11 wherein the devices are tuned to operate as a function of only at least one of flow velocity of the fluid, channel width of respective inlets, viscosity of the fluid, and radius of curvature of respective chambers.
17. The system as set forth in claim 11 wherein the system is configured on a micro-scale to process particles.
18. The system as set forth in claim 11 wherein the system is configured on a macro-scale to process particles.
19. The system as set forth in claim 11 wherein the system may be cascaded and operated in closed loop or by using multiple passes to increase separation efficiency and selectivity.
20. The system as set forth in claim 11 wherein the fluid is a liquid.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A computer program product comprising:
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable instructions stored thereon, the computer readable instructions executable by a processor to identify a plurality of individuals, each of the individuals having a corresponding social service need that is associated with a priority, the priority represented as a numerical value within a specified range;
identify a plurality of programs, each of the programs providing a service to address only one type of social service need, and each of the programs associated with a cost and a maximum number of the individuals to be associated with the program;
sort into a first list the individuals in decreasing order of the priority associated with the corresponding social service need such that a first entry of the first list is an individual with a corresponding social service need having a highest priority;
sort into a second list the programs in increasing order of the cost associated with each program; and
associate, in turn, each individual from the first list, beginning with the individual with the corresponding social service need having the highest priority, with a program from the second list with a lowest cost based on the program meeting a type of the corresponding social service need of the individual and the maximum number not being reached for the program, wherein
at least one of the individuals is a healthcare patient, and at least one of the programs is a healthcare program, and the associate, in turn, each individual from the list with a program from the second list is completed in a time period given by a runtime based on a sum of a logarithmic value of a total number of the programs and a logarithmic value of a total number of the individuals.
2. A system comprising:
a memory having computer readable instructions; and
a processor for executing the computer readable instructions, the instructions including:
identifying a plurality of individuals, each of the individuals having a corresponding social services need that is associated with a priority, the priority represented as a numerical value within a specified range;
identifying a plurality of programs, each of the programs providing a service to address only one type of social service need, and each of the programs associated with a cost and a maximum number of the individuals to be associated with the program;
sorting into a first list the individuals in decreasing order of the priority associated with the corresponding social service need such that a first entry of the first list is an individual with a corresponding social service need having a highest priority,
sorting into a second list the programs in increasing order of the cost associated with each program; and
associating, in turn, each individual from the first list, beginning with the individual with the corresponding social service need having the highest priority, with a program from the second list with a lowest cost based on the program meeting a type of the corresponding social service need of the individual and the maximum number not being reached for the program, wherein
at least one of the individuals is a healthcare patient, and at least one of the programs is a healthcare program, and the associating, in turn, each individual from the first list with a program from the second list is completed in a time period given by a runtime based on a sum of a logarithmic value of a total number of the programs and a logarithmic value of a total number of the individuals.
3. A method comprising:
identifying a plurality of individuals, each of the individuals having a corresponding social services need that is associated with a priority, the priority represented as a numerical value within a specified range;
identifying a plurality of programs, each of the programs providing a service to address only one type of social service need, and each of the programs associated with a cost and a maximum number of the individuals to be associated with the program;
sorting into a first list, by a computer processor, the individuals in decreasing order of the priority associated with the corresponding social service need such that a first entry of the first list is an individual with a corresponding social service need having a highest priority,
sorting into a second list, by the computer processor, the programs in increasing order of the cost associated with each program; and
associating, in turn, by the computer processor, each individual from the first list, beginning with the individual with the corresponding social service need having the highest priority, with a program from the second list with a lowest cost based on the program meeting a type of the corresponding social service need of the individual and the maximum number not being reached for the program, wherein
at least one of the individuals is a healthcare patient, and at least one of the programs is a healthcare program, and the associating, in turn, each individual from the first list with a program from the second list is completed in a time period given by a runtime based on a sum of a logarithmic value of a total number of the programs and a logarithmic value of a total number of the individuals.