We
have long heard and seen how smartphones and tablets can be used for
medical purposes. However, the new things people can do to make the
medical field more accessible to people are amazing.
A team of researchers at University of California Davis, through a
study provided by the National Science Foundation, has developed a 350x
microscope lens for the iPhone, enabling users to magnify stuff without
having to place them in a glass slide. This micro lens for iPhone could
make for interesting photos as well, which users can post on their
online albums.
The project makes use of a 1mm ball lens that is attached to the
outside of the iPhone lens with a rubber sheet and some tape. Although
this tiny lens technically can only offer 5x magnification, it creates a
tiny in-focus area that can resolve details as small as 1.5 microns.
The field of view is so small and there is an issue of image distortion,
but combining the in-focus areas of several pictures produces a clear
image that would identify cell types or even spectroscopic readings.
While the images produced are not high in quality compared to those
from traditional microscopes, those high-quality microscopes are not
mobile, not to mention the price difference. The developers announce
that the iPhone microscope lens can be sold for under $50.
Source: Plosone.org, via TechCrunch
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