Monday, May 3, 2010

  Smallest Telemedicine Microscope - world record set by CNSI

  LOS ANGELES, CA, USA -- Aydogan Ozcan , an assistant professor of electrical engineering at UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute, has created a miniature microscope, for imaging blood samples or other fluids, testing water quality or other public health need in resource-limited settings, weighing just 46 grams - and setting the new world record for the Smallest, Lightest Telemedicine Microscope .
 Photo: The World's Smallest Telemedicine Microscope is fairly robust with few moving parts and a large aperture.  Slightly wider than a US quarter and weighing just 46 grams, the lensless microscope is a self-contained imaging device.( enlarge photo )

The Smallest Telemedicine Microscope in the World builds on imaging technology known as LUCAS (Lensless Ultra-wide-field Cell Monitoring Array platform based on Shadow imaging), which was developed by Aydogan Ozcan , an assistant professor of electrical engineering at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and a researcher at UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute.

“This is a very capable and yet cost-effective microscope, shrunk into a very small package and weighing only 46 grams,” said inventor Aydogan Ozcan from the University of California, Los Angeles.

   “Our goal with this project was to develop a device that can be used to improve health outcomes in resource-limited settings. It can be used to image blood samples or other fluids, even in Third World countries,” Ozcan said.

 Instead of using a lens to magnify objects, LUCAS generates holographic images of microparticles or cells by employing a light-emitting diode to illuminate the objects and a digital sensor array to capture their images.

   Weighing 46 grams -- approximately as much as a large egg -- the World's Smallest Telemedicine Microscope is a self-contained imaging device. The only external attachments necessary are a USB connection to a smart-phone, PDA or computer, which supplies the microscope with power and allows images to be uploaded for conversion into results and then sent to a hospital.

   The technology can be used to image blood samples or other fluids, even in Third World countries. "This is a very capable and yet cost-effective microscope, shrunk into a very small package," Ozcan said. "Our goal with this project was to develop a device that can be used to improve health outcomes in resource-limited settings."

 Using a couple of inexpensive add-on parts, the lensless microscope can also be converted into a differential interference contrast (DIC) microscope, also known as a Nomarski microscope. DIC microscopes are used to gain information on the density of a sample, giving the appearance of a 3-D image by putting lines and edges in stark contrast. The additional parts for conversion to a DIC microscope cost approximately $1 to $2. 

  A number of design elements lead Ozcan to believe his lensless microscope will be a useful medical tool in resource-limited settings, such as some countries in Africa. Two key requirements for such settings are ease of use and durability.

    The World's Smallest Telemedicine Microscope requires minimal training; because of its large imaging field of view, the sample does not need to be scanned or perfectly aligned in the microscope. And operating the microscope is as simple as filling a chip with a sample and sliding the chip into a slot on the side of the microscope.

    Because of its large aperture, the lensless microscope is also resistant to problems caused by debris clogging the light source. In addition, there are few moving parts, making the microscope fairly robust.

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