While most every middle school science classroom in the United States owns one (if not many) microscopes for kids to experiment with, this is not the case for most doctors practicing in developing countries. It seems unreasonable that a medical doctor trying to diagnose and treat patients with diseases that have been eradicated in developed countries wouldn't have the equipment that he or she needs to perform the job. Microscopy – an observation that uses a microscope – and having access to a clinical-quality microscope is vital to analyzing patient blood, tissue and fluid samples. Thanks to a lifesaving project out of the University of California, Berkeley, a device that works with a cell phone's camera may just be the tool for which doctors who work in poor, impoverished areas of the world have been wishing.
Daniel A. Fletcher, Associate Professor of Bioengineering and Principal Investigator, has been working with his team to develop CellScope, which turns an ordinary cell phone into a clinical-quality microscope. The CellScope has magnification of 5-50X that captures images of samples that can then be sent to any lab in the world for analysis. The magnification is strong enough to see blood cells and the plasmodium parasite that causes malaria. In some instances, the diagnosis and treatment of a patient has as much to do with logistics as it does with a lack of equipment.
Many people that live in very remote areas have a difficult time getting to a clinic. If a doctor comes to them, any samples taken need to be transported back to a lab to be analyzed, losing critical treatment time for the patient and possibly exposing many more people to a highly contagious disease. Physicians using the CellScope telemicroscopy attachment will have the ability to diagnose and treat diseases in a fraction of the time it would normally take using more conventional methods. CellScope is a simple solution to a complex problem that may save lives and can help to prevent the spread of disease.
CellScope has been recognized as an innovative and worthwhile invention. Most notably, it was named as a winner of the Vidaphone Americas Foundation Wireless Innovation Project. The Wireless Innovation Project's mission is to "promote innovation and increase implementation of advanced wireless-related technology for a better world." The Project "seeks to identify and fund the best innovations using wireless related technology to address critical social issues around the world." Vidaphone Americas Foundation is an offshoot of Vidaphone, which is a mobile telecommunications company serving customers in 26 countries. Cellscope is also the winner of Intel's INSPIRE•EMPOWER Challenge, which selects winners based on their ability to address four areas of global need – education, healthcare, economic development and the environment.
While the CellScope is still in the prototype phase, the hope is that this affordable device will become a widespread tool used to improve healthcare in developing countries and possibly even in the U.S. For more information, visit the UC Berkley website's telemicroscopy news section.
