DGaO-Proceedings 2016 – http://www.dgao-proceedings.de – ISSN: 1614-8436 – urn:nbn:de:0287-2016-P044-9

submitted: 15.Jul.2016 – published: 10.Aug.2016

Literature: [1] N. Switz, M. D‘Ambrosio, A. Fletcher, „Low-Cost Mobile Phone Microscopy with a Reversed Mobile Phone”, PLoS ONE 9(5): e95330, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0095330

Carsten C. Reichert, Alois M. Herkommer

Institut für Technische Optik, Universität Stuttgart

An easy and cheap way to use

smartphones as a microscope

Recorded images Artery Musculature Cat lungs Mouse testis

1 mm

Imaging of phase objects

1 mm

Motivation

The evidence of widespread diseases requires microscopic

examination and evaluation by health care professionals.

Smartphones are all around in developing countries and can

serve as microscopes to improve global health care.

Aim

Develop an optical head to use smartphones as a microscope

for diagnostic purposes. The optical head should be cheap,

suitable for many smartphones, resolve structures of 5

microns, and the full image sensor should be used.

We modified the optical head to create a smartphone phase

contrast microscope. We also built a holographic setup.

Both structures are inexpensive and allow imaging of phase

objects with a smartphone.

Investigated optical solutions

The simplest and most cost effective possibility is to use

smartphone camera modules as an optical head like in reference

[1]. We position them (reversed) in front of the smartphone camera

and achieved a resolution of 360 line pairs per mm.

EO 83679 EO 48430 Grintecch h=1,8 mm

EO 84381 EO 84127 EO 83616 EO 83616 Luxexcel

5 mm

Smartphone camera Optical head

3D printed mechanics We designed different objective holders for the smartphone

camera modules. All of them are producible with a 3d-printer and

suitable for many different smartphone manufacturers. All of the

3D printed mechanics allow mechanical focusing.

Blood vessel

Human blood

0,04 mm

Small intestine Cat gland Spinal cord

Pancreas Cerebral cortex Human scalp

0,25 mm