Developments in mobile phones are generally targeted to the mass and to satisfy the needs of the normal user in the daily life. We have seen High definition camera, Mobile TV, Mini Projectors in Mobile Phones, internet browser and more or less a tiny computer, not to forget the wide range of applications in the smart phones (especially iPhones and android based handsets) that transform the phone to a GPS receiver, sophisticated game console and so on. But a microscope ??
While this is not a feature that a normal mobile user would need, but it certainly has an advantage for researchers out in the field away from the lab. Using about $10 off-the-shelf components and mobile phone, the researchers at UC Berkeley have created a microscope.
Check the video below to know more about this innovation.

“In one prototype, a slide holding a finger prick of blood can be inserted over the phone’s camera sensor. The sensor detects the slide’s contents and sends the information wirelessly to a hospital or regional health center. For instance, the phones can detect the asymmetric shape of diseased blood cells or other abnormal cells, or note an increase of white blood cells, a sign of infection, according to the press release from UCLA.”