Scientists Create Smartphone Attachment for Screening Cancer

A new portable smartphone attachment that can be utilized to effectively screen for cancer is the result of a joint effort between researchers at the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA, Sweden’s Stockholm University, and Uppsala University. The device is an effective tool especially for underdeveloped countries where advanced equipment is lacking and bringing in tools can be costly. The smartphone attachment itself was developed using affordable materials and can be manufactured at less than $500 each whereas a similar full-size equipment doctors use can cost $10,000 to $50,000 each.

It is essentially a microscope attachment capable of recording multi-mode images comparable to more expensive light microscopes but made with some 3D printed parts. “Ultra-low-cost DNA sequencing and tumor biopsy analysis, in which morphology and mutation analysis are combined, can substantially decrease diagnostic costs and make it more widely accessible,” said Malte Kühnemund of SciLifeLab, one of the study’s first authors.

The prototype device uses a Nokia Lumia 1020 handset, with a 38-megapixel camera featuring a 1/1.5-inch sensor. It has a long focal length of 6.86mm plus the microscope’s external lens provides a total magnification factor of about 2.6 times. Its portability makes it an indispensable tool for doctors in remote places.