The development of a high resolution microscope compact, small enough have completed to fit on the tip of a finger. This microscopic microscope operates without lenses but has the power of magnification of a light microscope of high quality, can be transported with obvious ease and use anywhere to analyze blood samples in tests for detection of malaria, or analyze water supplies in order to verify the existence of giardia and other pathogenic organisms, and can be manufactured in series for around $10. (NC & T) Changhuei Yang developed the device, with the help of his colleagues at Caltech. The microscope is truly compact; Indeed, it may be installed on a mobile phone. In addition, it is able to obtain the necessary lighting for viewing from just from sunlight. All These features make it very attractive for sanitary applications in the third world.

The new instrument combines the technology of traditional computer chip with microfluidics, fluids to incredibly small scales. A microscope full optofluidico on a chip is about the size of a coin of twenty-five cents, although the part of the device that produces images of objects is only the size of the nose of George Washington in that currency. Yang is now holding negotiations with biotechnology companies to manufacture in series chip. The platform on which the chip integrates may vary, depending on the needs of the user. For example, the health personnel in rural areas could carry adequate models to form part of the portable medical instruments, empowering professionals to verify in situ if an individual suffers from malaria, among other things. We could build hundreds or thousands of microscopes optofluidicos on a single chip, which would allow get the images of many organisms for immediate analysis, explains Xiquan Cui, of the research team. In the future, microscopes in chips could be incorporated into devices that could be implanted in the human body. An analysis with an implantable microscope system is capable, autonomously, monitor what comes through the bloodstream and isolate loose cancerous cells that is found, thus providing important information for diagnosing and helping to prevent the spread of cancerous cells.