Telemicroscopy for Disease Diagnosis

One of the most basic yet powerful tools in all of medicine is the simple microscope. It is the first tool of evaluation for skin diseases, ear aches, and sore throats, as well as being central to diagnosis of blood diseases. However, only the discerning eye of a trained physician can filter images and provide effective diagnoses and treatment recommendations. We propose to link high-resolution microscopic imaging with clinical expertise through microscopy-enabled cell phones. Increased access to health data from portable, low-cost microscope attachments to cell phones coupled with wireless connection to professional knowledge can play a vital role in improving health monitoring and disease diagnosis. Inadequate diagnosis and treatment of disease, as well as the cost of conventional healthcare, is a significant source of poverty in many rural communities. The ‘telemicroscopy’ system that we propose is a platform technology that would be useful in a wide range of contexts.

We propose to turn the camera of a standard cell phone into a diagnostic-quality microscope with a magnification of 5X-50X. Cell-phone microscopy will enable visualization of samples, followed by capture, organization, and transmission of images critical for diagnosis. Our preliminary work has demonstrated the technical feasibility of this concept, with $75 of parts added to a cell phone allowing us to capture and transmit images of blood samples anywhere in the world. We call this ‘telemicroscopy’.

The need for telemicroscopy: The ability to capture images of, for example, infected skin, ulcerous lesions, or malarial blood samples, and to send those images for remote evaluation could drastically reduce both the cost and time of performing critical disease diagnosis – as well as provide an early warning of epidemics – in poverty stricken communities and countries around the globe.