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  • Want to See Bacteria Using Your iPhone's Camera?
    by
    Anthony Bouchard
    Published on 10-10-2011 08:27 PM
    13 Comments Comments

    A new $30 lens extension will allow you to see the unseen with your iPhone's camera.

    Granted that this works with iPhones, this will work with any smartphone that has a camera. All thanks to UC-Davis researchers, we now have a 1 millimeter ball lens that is mounted with rubber capable of being attached to any smartphone camera. The lens gives your iPhone the power of a 350X microscope. The lens is taped onto your iPhone's camera and the whole bundle only costs around $30. Won't it be worth it to get a kick out of scaring your kids by showing them just what kind of a filthy world that they live in? Just look at the picture of the penny above – you can see all the little bacteria on it. I'm sure you people could come up with much more creative things than a penny!

    Quote Originally Posted by Gizmodo
    Besides its obvious uses in the classroom and research field, this basic lens could be a useful tool for doctors in impoverished areas. It's resolution of 1.5 microns is sensitive enough that doctors can use it to view red blood cells and diagnose blood diseases like iron deficiency sickle-cell anemia. And it's cheap.
    Now correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't this possibly open the door for putting more iPhones in the real world? Seriously. For only $230, you can have a microscope imitator that costs a significant amount less than a full blown microscope would cost. $230 versus $2000+? I think the choice is clear!

    Isn't this pretty neat? Share your opinion below!

    Sources: Gizmodo
    This article was originally published in forum thread: Want to See Bacteria Using Your iPhone's Camera? started by Anthony Bouchard View original post
    Categories:
    1. iPhone,
    2. Accessories
    Comments 13 Comments
    1. mmaboi21's Avatar
      mmaboi21 - 10-10-2011, 08:33 PM
      That's sick(awesome!)! I want one bad!!
    1. spazturtle's Avatar
      spazturtle - 10-10-2011, 08:41 PM
      Sadly it cannot make the iPhone an electron microscope so this is useless for science, only good for hobbyists.
    1. mmaboi21's Avatar
      mmaboi21 - 10-10-2011, 08:53 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by spazturtle View Post
      Sadly it cannot make the iPhone an electron microscope so this is useless for science, only good for hobbyists.
      And probably something the person next to you(with an iPhone) doesn't have. Nice show off feature.
    1. bzpilot's Avatar
      bzpilot - 10-10-2011, 09:20 PM
      "$230 versus $2000+?" ???? Not sure where you are pricing 350x microscopes but you can pick one up for less than $50 and that includes a hard case. This type of magnification is what you get from the cheapest microscopes ...you know the ones you used in second grade science.
    1. badass1469's Avatar
      badass1469 - 10-10-2011, 10:12 PM
      this is pretty cool, I'd have no practical use for this, but id like to pick one up just to tinker with it.
    1. Truckerbear's Avatar
      Truckerbear - 10-10-2011, 11:58 PM
      The human male can see his own sperm at 200x. At 350x they are very visible.
    1. Anthony Bouchard's Avatar
      Anthony Bouchard - 10-11-2011, 12:46 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by bzpilot View Post
      "$230 versus $2000+?" ???? Not sure where you are pricing 350x microscopes but you can pick one up for less than $50 and that includes a hard case. This type of magnification is what you get from the cheapest microscopes ...you know the ones you used in second grade science.
      I was referring to professional microscopes. Consider the iPhone with this attachment a Dollar Store version of what I was referring to and you'll see why my pricing scale makes sense.
    1. JazJon's Avatar
      JazJon - 10-11-2011, 02:32 AM
      Is it for sale yet? (didn't see any order details, followed all the links no luck)
    1. vannblackwings's Avatar
      vannblackwings - 10-11-2011, 06:20 AM
      Somehow I think doctors are going to still use standard medically approved microscopes and not this hokum. How about a telescope attachment, then I might be interested.
    1. M3mph1s's Avatar
      M3mph1s - 10-11-2011, 07:46 AM
      This is pretty cool actually. Last week I ordered little 1" diameter fish eye and micro lens attachments. JUST like this, I know they aren't for "professional" use by any means, they are for teh lulz. Just some fun.

      I'm curious about how easy this would be to remove. It'd be a lot of fun to poke around with, but when it comes time to family pictures, or those pics you tell your girlfriends you deleted, this MIGHT not be so practical. Still gets my thumbs up!
    1. Poseidon79's Avatar
      Poseidon79 - 10-11-2011, 07:55 AM
      I'd like you to meet my cute little pet bacteria Say hi... [Puts on attachment].
    1. raduga's Avatar
      raduga - 10-15-2011, 05:36 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by acm0810 View Post
      pretty neat... what is the name of the lense and where can i get it ?
      is out yet ?
      i will appreciate if anyone can email me the response.

      Thanks!!
      From the original article:
      PLoS ONE: Cell-Phone-Based Platform for Biomedical Device Development and Education Applications

      Imaging lens.

      The construction of the iPhone microscope was as simple as adding a small ball lens mounted directly on top of the phone, as shown in the upper panel of Figure 1. A 1 mm diameter ball lens (Edmund Optics, Barrington, NJ) was mounted inside a small ring of black rubber to aid in light baffling. The rubber was then attached to the cell phone by means of double-sided tape. Performance targets were imaged by placing the sample in the plane of best focus.
      Quote Originally Posted by JazJon View Post
      Is it for sale yet? (didn't see any order details, followed all the links no luck)
      Its a standard, commercially available lens.

      Nobody has (that I can tell)
      packaged it up with an iPhone mount bracket and sold it as a commercial product.
      Great opportunity for an entrepreneurial MMi photo/hardware nut. :HINT HINT:


      Edmund has a few different kinds (the article didn't specify which they used)
      Optical Lenses - Edmund Optics
      $20-$40

      They also have a 1.5mm lens on sale for $5 if you're feeling adventurous.
      https://www.edmundoptics.com/onlinec...riteria=45-748
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