Optical systems for point-of-care diagnostic instrumentation: analysis of imaging performance and cost

摘要: One of the key elements in point-of-care (POC) diagnostic test instrumentation is optical system required for signal detection and/or imaging. Many tests which use fluorescence, absorbance, or colorimetric signals are under development management infectious diseases resource limited settings, where overall size and cost device critical importance. At present, high-performance lenses expensive to fabricate difficult obtain commercially, presenting barriers developers vitro POC microscopic image-based diagnostics. We recently described a compact "hybrid" objective lens incorporating both glass plastic elements, with numerical aperture 1.0 field-of-view 250 μm. This design concept may potentially enable mass-production high-performance, low-cost systems can be easily incorporated readout path existing emerging assays. In this paper, we evaluate biological imaging performance these three broad application areas; (1) bright field microscopy histopathology slides, (2) cytologic examination blood smears, (3) immunofluorescence also break down fabrication costs draw comparisons other miniature systems. The hybrid provided images quality comparable conventional microscopy, enabling neoplastic pathology parasites including malaria cryptosporidium. describe how components produced at below $10 per unit full-scale production quantities, making well suited within instrumentation.