New Lens-Free Microscope Uses Smartphone Technology


SmartphoneMircroScope2UCLA is known for being a leader in microscope technology and now its scientists are working on something extremely innovative in the hunt for cancer detection methods. Using a silicon chip found in smartphones and digital cameras, UCLA's Dr. Aydogan Ozcan et. al. revealed a florescence imaging attachment for analyzing DNA strands. The discovery will support cost-effective biomedical applications.

SmartphoneMircroScope1Published in Science Translational Medicine, the technique would involve a lens-free microscope “for wide-field viewing of pathology slides using a small, cheap, and portable device” (Medagadget). In fact, the microscope is said to be just as effective as the big, expensive optical microscopes. Plus, the equipment requires no lens, allowing the process of capturing images to become automatic. It works by allowing doctors to see a holographically reconstructed image of the object, and by enabling a 3D view of tissue samples using a CCD or CMOS sensor, similar to those found in smartphones and digital cameras. Thanks to the light source casting shadows on the tissue, very specific components of the sample can be zoomed in on. As you can imagine, the more specific doctors can get, the better they can diagnose and treat.

SmartphoneMircroScopeThe device was officially demonstrated using an actual smartphone microscope at UCLA, where Ozcan's team tested its use on pap smear, breast, and blood samples that indicated cancer. A blind study, comparing the accuracy of samples analyzed by the new lens-free technology vs. traditional microscopes, showed that the lens-free images were accurate 99% of the time (Laser Focus World). Still, there's a lot of tweaking to do. Ozcan hopes his software will do a lot for doctors in cancer detection, or at the very least, allow patients to get samples taken in office, rather than being sent out to a specialist (Engadget). Whatever outcome, at least we have an economical and accurate alternative for diagnosing abnormal cellular structure.

Topics: Technology News Display Screen Technology Inventions & Innovations Smartphones & Mobile Devices

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