MicrobeWorld

A low-cost adapter for cell phone cameras can capture images of abnormal cells and parasites.

A few years ago University of California, Berkeley, professor Daniel Fletcher challenged the undergraduate students in his optics and microscopy course to develop an instrument using only a cell phone and a few objective lenses. It was not until after the project began that Fletcher and the students realized they had created a powerful yet inexpensive instrument that could potentially be used to test for diseases common in developing countries, such as malaria, sickle-cell anemia and tuberculosis.