Future Of Health: $3 Digital Microscope Connects To Cellphones

A team of researchers led by Aydogan Ozcan, professor of electrical and biomedical engineering at UCLA have developed an inexpensive digital microscope that can plug into any cellphone through a USB cable, enabling healthcare workers to provide basic medical diagnostics from anywhere. The small device uses no lenses, but instead incorporates a light-emitting diode to illuminate the sample along with a light-sensing chip to capture an analyze images from slides. An algorithm is able to extract data from the samples, determining patient blood counts and identifying disease cells and bacteria that might be present. The portability and low cost of the device means medical staff no longer need to rely on expensive equipment or physical clinics to provide necessary care to individuals living in remote areas. The microscope is currently being developed through a partnership with Santa Monica based startup Holoscope with goals to improve both the software and hardware.

Ozcan Research Group

[via Technology Review | contributed to PSFKu.com by Ruben Sun]

Over the next few weeks, PSFK is running a trends research and innovation project in association with UNICEF. We will be researching (with your help) the development of key trends that impact health and wellbeing and then using our findings to develop with partners concepts that UNICEF and likeminded organizations could consider deploying across the world.

Find out more here: PSFK presents the Future Of Health in association with UNICEF