IITian Manu Prakash's cheap, portable microscope could revolutionise global health
New Delhi: Inspired by microscopist Antoni van Leeuwenhoek's work with microscopes, an Indian-origin biophysicist named Manu Prakash has also developed his own handy, foldable microscope that has the potential to possibly change the face of global health.
Prakash, an IIT alumnus, has his own laboratory at the Stanford University's bioengineering department and is known for having invented the Foldscope- a printable, use-and-throw microscope that is made almost entirely from a sheet of paper.
The Foldscope kit includes paper that is printed with botanical illustrations and perforated with several shapes which can be punched out and with a series of origami-style folds that could be woven together into a single unit.
According to The New Yorker, the microscope is about the size of a bookmark and its lens- a speck of plastic provides a 140 times magnification. There is also a second lens which is of higher magnification that comes with a set of stick-on magnets which are used to attach a smartphone to the microscope for easy recording of a sample through the phone's camera.
While the Foldscope performs most of the functions of a high-school lab microscope, its parts cost less than a dollar. Prakash, along with some of his graduate students have also launched theFoldscope Explore website where recipients of the kits can share images, videos, commentary about exploring the device.
Prakash and his chief collaborator on the project, Jim Cybulski, plan to make the Foldscope available especially to people who live without electricity or modern sanitation, and who have likely never observed the microcosmos directly.
He says, "There’s a very deep connection between science education and global health. Unless you get people curious about the small-scale world, it’s very hard to change mind-sets about diseases."
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