I think we need to stop calling them cell phones, because our hand held devices are starting to have more capabilities than Batman’s utility belt. Controlling robots, projecting images, depositing checks, augmented reality, not to mention internet, GPS, and cameras… and now we can add microscopes to the list. Prof. Dan Flectcher and his team out of UC Berkeley are developing the CellScope, a microscope assembly that will easily attach to a standard cell phone and allow you to take up close images of skin and blood samples. While that sounds like just another cool iPhone trick, it has huge implications for fighting diseases in the Third World. Check out Fletcher’s explanation video from Popular Science after the break.

Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria kill millions each year and infect hundreds of millions more. Most of those infected are miles from a doctor and even farther from reliable medical equipment. This means that many go untreated, and many more may be misdiagnosed. A portable method for sampling blood in the field could literally save millions of lives. CellScope has the potential to do just that. Field personnel with little experience can take a blood sample, image it, then send the photo to a qualified medical professional miles away. Diagnosis by phone might be just what the doctor ordered.

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