BBC News, 13
March 2013
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| Slides were stuck to the lens with double sided tape and lit with a cheap torch |
They
attached an $8 (£5) ball lens to the handset camera lens, and used a cheap
torch and double-sided tape to create an improvised microscope.
Pictures
were then taken of stool samples placed on lab slides, wrapped in cellophane
and taped to the phone.
They were
studied for the presence of eggs, the main sign of the presence of the
parasites.
When the
results were double-checked with a laboratory light microscope, the device had
managed to pick up 70% of the samples with infections present - and 90% of the
heavier infections.
The study
has been published this week in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
Researcher
Dr Isaac Bogoch, who specialises in internal medicine and infectious diseases
at Toronto General Hospital, told the BBC he had read about smartphone
microscopes being trialled in a laboratory and decided to "recreate it in
a real world setting".
"Ultimately
we'd like something like this to be a useful diagnostic test. We want to put it
in the hands of someone who might be able to use it," he said.
"70%
(accuracy) isn't really good enough, we want to be above 80% and we're not
quite there yet," he added.
"The
technology is out there. We want to use materials that are affordable and easy
to procure."
Camera key
Dr Bogoch
and his team, which included experts from Massachusetts General Hospital and
the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, said the only reason he used an
Apple iPhone was because it was his own handset.
"You
need the ball lens to help with the magnification - but any mobile phone with a
decent camera and a zoom function will be sufficient," he explained.
The
smallest eggs visible using the smartphone were 40-60 micrometres in diameter.
"From
an egg standpoint that is not tiny but it's not enormous either," said Dr
Bogoch.
"The
microscope was very good at diagnosing children with heavier infection
intensities as there are more eggs, so they are easier to see."
Intestinal
worms are estimated to affect up to two billion people around the world, mainly
in poor areas.
"These
parasitic infections cause malnutrition, stunted growth, and stunted mental
development," added Dr Bogoch.
"It's
a big deal, a big problem."
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