Bokeh microscopy-enabled microfluidic channels for facile point-of-care monitoring

We report the implementation of the bokeh microscopy scheme in microfluidic settings for future applications in point-of-care microchannel monitoring in highly resource-limited environments. We realize the functional integration using a single polymer microlens fabricated over the microchannel. The inherent simplicity of the bokeh microscopy enables image capturing with an off-the-shelf camera. Our pilot devices exhibit 10 ∼ 40 of magnification and 67 ∼ 252 μm of field-of-view extent, confirming their utility for monitoring 50 ∼ 100 μm microchannels carrying 10 ∼ 50 μm objects.