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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Lensless On-chip Imaging of Cells Provides a New Tool for High-throughput Cell-Biology and Medical Diagnostics
Published on: December 14, 2009
Miniaturized lensless imaging systems for cell and microorganism visualization in point-of-care testing
Umut Atakan Gurkan1, Sangjun Moon, Hikmet Geckil
1Demirci Bio-Acoustic MEMS in Medicine (BAMM) Labs at the HST-BWH Center for Bioengineering, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. udemirci@rics.bwh.harvard.edu
Abstract:
Low-cost, robust, and user-friendly diagnostic capabilities at the point-of-care (POC) are critical for treating infectious diseases and preventing their spread in developing countries. Recent advances in micro- and nanoscale technologies have enabled the merger of optical and fluidic technologies (optofluidics) paving the way for cost-effective lensless imaging and diagnosis for POC testing in resource-limited settings. Applications of the emerging lensless imaging technologies include detecting and counting cells of interest, which allows rapid and affordable diagnostic decisions. This review presents the advances in lensless imaging and diagnostic systems, and their potential clinical applications in developing countries. The emerging technologies are reviewed from a POC perspective considering cost effectiveness, portability, sensitivity, throughput and ease of use for resource-limited settings.
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