Cell-Phone-Based Platform for Biomedical Device Development and Education Applications
2011

Cell Phone-Based Biomedical Devices

publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Zachary J. Smith, Kaiqin Chu, Alyssa R. Espenson, Mehdi Rahimzadeh, Amy Gryshuk, Marco Molinaro, Denis M. Dwyre, Stephen Lane, Dennis Matthews, Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu

Primary Institution: University of California Davis

Hypothesis

Can cell phone attachments be developed to function as low-cost biomedical devices for microscopy and spectroscopy?

Conclusion

The study successfully demonstrates that cell phone attachments can be used to create effective low-cost biomedical devices for imaging and spectroscopy.

Supporting Evidence

  • The cell phone microscope achieved a resolution of 1.5 microns.
  • The spectrometer can achieve a spectral resolution of approximately 5 nm.
  • Images from the cell phone microscope were comparable to those from commercial microscopes.

Takeaway

This study shows that you can turn a regular cell phone into a microscope and a spectrometer, which can help doctors look at blood samples and other things without needing expensive equipment.

Methodology

The study involved constructing a microscope and spectrometer by adding simple attachments to a cell phone camera and testing their performance on biological samples.

Limitations

The devices may not achieve the same performance as commercial instruments and have limitations in resolution and light collection efficiency.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1371/journal.pone.0017150

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