Aydogan Ozcan, an associate professor of electrical engineering at UCLA, is working on a low-cost microscope that uses the silicon sensor found in mobile phone cameras. According to Ozcan, his microscope, which currently has a resolution of one millionth of a meter, which is powerful enough to reliably image the malaria parasite.

While a traditional microscope can have a six-figure price tag, Ozcan believes his microscopes can be produced for under $10.

According to CNN, the device, dubbed LUCAS (Lensless, Ultra-wide-field Cell monitoring Array platform based on Shadow imaging), clips onto to the back of a standard cell phone (minus its lens) and comprises of an LED light, a spatial filter, and a slot for a medical slide. It works by passing light through a slide sample which creates shadows of individual cells on the phone’s digital camera sensor positioned below. [Read more…]