BBC News (7/22) reports that researchers developed the CellScope, an add-on to a mobile phone that acts as both a white-light and fluorescence microscope. It "can take detailed images and analyse them to diagnose diseases such as tuberculosis." The hope is to use the device "in the developing world, where such medical diagnostics are rare but mobile ownership and coverage are common." David Breslauer, a University of California Berkeley researcher and lead author of the study, "says that more than just a camera, the incorporation of a mobile phone 'gives us access to the computational power of the phone as well as the mobile communications aspect.'" The phone "could be put to use in running image analysis software," and the transfer capability allows doctors far away to examine the results. "The team is now making a more robust, 'field-ready' version of the device, which will be used in field testing and clinical trials in the future."
