Today, most of the magnifying lenses that functions at microscopic level, are very expensive. But to solve this issue, an IITian has developed a robust and inexpensive ‘smartphone microscope’. A lens that can detect malaria, fake notes and more.
KRC TIMES Desk
Bhuvaneshwari Karunakaran, an IIT Bombay PhD student, has said she has developed a lens for Rs.2 that can be used in detection of fake currency notes, sperm counts and blood cell analysis. The lens, made with a silicone polymer with water, works when placed over a smartphone camera and can be used to see objects as small as 1.5 microns.
She created it by employing a silicone elastomer called polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) – a polymer with viscoelasticity – and by treating it in a test tube. The device functions just by simply being positioned over a smartphone camera.
Karunakaran considered shape-changing properties of liquids and combined liquid PDMS with water – both of which don’t mix together – in a test tube. This resulted in a crescent shape at their interface, which the team heated and solidified to form the lens. The lens, when put over a camera, can be used to see objects as small as 1.5 microns in size.
Karunakaran says, can be used in several fields, starting from blood cell analysis, to sperm counting, to detecting contaminants in water or fake Indian currency notes. This lens can even be used for detecting malaria, endoscopes, or dental tests.
Karunakaran emphasises that her technique can be used for developing the lens at a cost as low as Rs. 2. Naturally, for people looking for a robust detection tool this can come handy at a very cheap investment.
