Cell Phone Microscope

We’ve seen cell phone telescopes in the past, but those certainly can’t be used for medical purposes. This 60x cell phone microscope was designed by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley which provides an affordable and reliable method to diagnose patients in remote areas over the phone. Dubbed the CellScope, you get 5x magnification for diagnosing skin conditions and 60x which is powerful enough to magnify and diagnose malaria in a blood sample. Heck, you can also use it to count white blood cells in leukemia patients. The initial prototype was constructed from off-the-shelf components with a total cost of $75 thereabouts. Imagine snapping images using the CellScope and sending it via MMS to a medical lab a few hundred miles away. Hopefully a refined version can roll out soon.