Portable and cost-effective pixel super-resolution on-chip microscope for telemedicine applications

Abstract

We report a field-portable lensless on-chip microscope with a lateral resolution of 1m and a large field-of-view of 24mm 2. This microscope is based on digital in-line holography and a pixel super-resolution algorithm to process multiple lensfree holograms and obtain a single high-resolution hologram. In its compact and cost-effective design, we utilize 23 light emitting diodes butt-coupled to 23 multi-mode optical fibers, and a simple optical filter, with no moving parts. Weighing only 95 grams, we demonstrate the performance of this field-portable microscope by imaging various objects including human malaria parasites in thin blood smears. © 2011 IEEE.