MoVaBle

The early detection of disease (point of care, or POC) allows faster diagnosis and therefore more rapid intervention. The project "MOVABLE" aims to develope a quantitative POC system for blood cell analysis. A miniaturized optical microscope is used to check for healthy and infected cells. First, functionalized surfaces induce a cell separation. These cells are subsequently detected by transmission or fluorescence microscopy. The image processing is performed by a smartphone, and possibly the image recording when the first phase of analysis supports this solution. The POC system is intended to be used in areas where there is little or no access to hospitals. Although the system is intended for general examination purposes, there are two applications of main interest:

• The detection of CD4 lymphocyte content for AIDS surveillance.
•  Early detection of malaria.
   

Images of the infected cells were taken with an iPhone coupled with a plano-convexe lens of 2 mm of focal length.
 A thin absorption filter (0099,3203 and 3152) changed the illumination spectrum.