Low-cost, sub-micron resolution, wide-field computational microscopy using opensource hardware

Abstract

The revolution in low-cost consumer photography and computation provides fertile opportunity for a disruptive reduction in the cost of biomedical imaging. Conventional approaches to low-cost microscopy are fundamentally restricted, however, to modest field of view (FOV) and/or resolution. We report a low-cost microscopy technique, implemented with a Raspberry Pi single-board computer and color camera combined with Fourier ptychography (FP), to computationally construct 25-megapixel images with sub-micron resolution. New image-construction techniques were developed to enable the use of the low-cost Bayer color sensor, to compensate for the highly aberrated re-used camera lens and to compensate for misalignments associated with the 3D-printed microscope structure. This high ratio of performance to cost is of particular interest to high-throughput microscopy applications, ranging from drug discovery and digital pathology to health screening in low-income countries. 3D models and assembly instructions of our microscope are made available for open source use.