Optofluidic Technology Yields Microscope Without Lenses - The Size Of A Fingertip

Monday, July 28, 2008 - 18:14 in Physics & Chemistry

Tired of your bulky microscope? Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have developed a super-compact high-resolution microscope, small enough to fit on a finger tip. This "microscopic microscope" operates without lenses but has the magnifying power of a top-quality optical microscope, can be used in the field to analyze blood samples for malaria or check water supplies for giardia and other pathogens, and can be mass-produced for around $10. "The whole thing is truly compact--it could be put in a cell phone--and it can use just sunlight for illumination, which makes it very appealing for Third-World applications," says Changhuei Yang, assistant professor of electrical engineering and bioengineering at Caltech, who developed the device, dubbed an optofluidic microscope, along with his colleagues at Caltech. Read More...

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