CellScope for Disease Diagnosis

Portable, Low-Cost Imaging for Monitoring and Disease Diagnosis

Photo Credit: Bart NagelMicroscopy is a vital and ubiquitous healthcare tool in modern hospitals and clinics for initial disease screening as well as for in-depth analysis of patient blood samples. However, many developing countries lack access to clinical-quality microscopes necessary for even the most basic evaluations. This scarcity of equipment is exacerbated by the lack of qualified medical personnel, especially in rural areas, to provide diagnoses and treatment based on the microscopy data.

The CellScope project focuses on the development of an affordable and modular high-magnification microscope. Since its earliest stages of development, the CellScope has expanded from a simple attachment to existing smartphones to its present incarnation as a small, portable and rugged bench top device that connects to a netbook computer. The CellScope now includes imaging software which assists with image analysis and with incorporating data into electronic health records. The Cellscope team is currently looking to further improve the device by incorporating fluorescent microscopy technology in order to provide improved diagnostics.

Due to its portability, affordability and functionality, the CellScope enables health workers in remote areas to take high-resolution images of a patient's blood cells using the camera, process and analyze these images, and then transmit the images to experts at medical centers. This device can reduce both the cost and time of performing critical disease diagnoses, as well as provide early warning of outbreaks in poverty-stricken regions in the world.

Already, the team has successfully imaged malaria and tuberculosis (TB) using the CellScope system with image quality comparable to standard diagnostic microscopy. The diagnosis of tuberculosis is currently being piloted in partnership with UCSF in Uganda, in a test to compare diagnosis using the CellScope side-by-side with existing approaches. In the coming year, the team will launch a pilot project of integrating the CellScope with an existing rural telemedicine network in India.

Principal Investigator: Professor Daniel Fletcher, Bioengineering
Website: CellScope Website Field Location: Uganda and India
Partners: Blum Center for Developing Economies; Microsoft Research; Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS); PATH; Intel; Vodafone Americas Foundation