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Portable Microscope Uses Holograms Instead of Lens

Posted by samzenpus on from the discount-medical-supply dept.

Zothecula writes "While financial contributions are certainly a great help to health care practitioners in developing nations, one of the things that they really need is rugged, portable, low-cost medical equipment that is compatible with an often-limited local infrastructure. Several such devices are currently under development, such as a battery-powered surgical lamp, a salad-spinner-based centrifuge, and a baby-warmer that utilizes wax. UCLA is now working on another appropriate technology in the form of a small, inexpensive microscope that uses holograms instead of lenses to image what can't be seen by the human eye."

4 of 64 comments (clear)

  1. Infrastructure by Fnord666 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Although the microscope itself collects raw data, an external laptop, smartphone, or cloud-based system performs all the processing.

    The spatial resolution ... is reportedly similar to that offered by low- to medium-power lenses.

    At this point don't you have more in infrastructure needs than you would with a basic optical microscope?

    --
    'The tyrant will always find pretext for his tyranny.' - Aesop's Fables
    1. Re:Infrastructure by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2

      At this point don't you have more in infrastructure needs than you would with a basic optical microscope?

      No, they'll hook it up to a smartphone. They're everywhere.

      Really, I just don't see the point to this. Used optical microscopes are dirt cheap, certainly less than $50, are easy to maintain, don't require computers, don't have lasers and probably a number of things I'm not thinking of. The big cost in a rural facility isn't going to be basic infrastructure, it's going to be expendables - medications, bandages, sterile supplies.

      Color me confused and a bit cynical about 'saving the world' through high tech stuff.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re:Infrastructure by johnstrass1 · · Score: 5, Informative

      I am a physician and I work in africa sometimes. The real treat here is potentially using optics (confocal or OCT) to produce better contrast in a small package. Processing tissue for light microscopy requires a big lab; this device uses reflectance data, not transmission, making it ideal for a hunk of flesh

    3. Re:Infrastructure by Gerzel · · Score: 4, Informative

      Generally no. Think back to HS biology, you put stuff on clear glass slides to see it. If it operated on reflective you wouldn't need the slide, just put it under the black or white base and look.