Final Design

            In 2010, Mozambique’s Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM) and UCSD won a five-year, $12.5-million award from the U.S. Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI). The mobile scope project’s sponsor, Dr. Eliah Aronoff-Spencer, a member of UCSD’s Department of Infectious Diseases, is part of the partnership between UCSD and UEM to help build UEM’s medical infrastructure. He has tasked the mobile scope team with creating a three-in-one bright-field microscope, fluorescent microscope, and spectroscope to support his work in Mozambique. Because of the high cost of such medical diagnostic equipment, the overall design goal of the mobile scope project is to make basic medical diagnostic equipment cheaper, more portable, and easier to use—ultimately bringing much needed medical care to those countries in need.

            The initial mobile scope concept (mechanize, digital, low cost). Early risk reduction focused on the testing of various optical configurations using low cost, standard microscope components. These configurations were digitally captured using a webcam and assessed for magnification and overall image clarity. Risk reduction was also performed to test the resolution capabilities of a lead screw mechanism which would allow for automated translation around the sample slide under study as well as micron-level focusing adjustments. Tests were also performed to determine the proper lighting conditions for fluorescent imaging and spectroscopy. The design process of the mobile scope focused on iterative prototyping of the microscope’s optical, mechanical, and electronic components in order to develop the most robust hardware prototype within the condensed 13 week time frame.

XYZ Linear Actuator

• • Uses M2 and M3 threaded rod as lead screws for XYZ plane translation

  • 3/16" O1 oil-hardened tool steel guide rods

  • Graphite-impregnated bronze bushings

  • Acrylic material

Objective Rotation Mechanism

• • Actuated by micro servo motor

  • Mechanical stops for precision position control

  • Flange bearing

  • 3/16" O1 oil-hardened tool steel shaft

Microscope Optics

• • DIN Standard 160mm Tube Length

  • Accommodates standard microscope eyepiece and two objective lenses 

Digital Imager

• • 5 megapixel resolution image sensor

  • 1.4 micron pixel length

  • Plug-and-play compatibility with most computers

Slide Tray

• • Back plate to shield from excess ambient light

  • Standard microscope tray clip design

  • Accommodates various standard slide dimension

Performance:

Will include a summary of the project's performance after tests are conducted.