Pocket MUSE: an affordable, versatile and high-performance fluorescence microscope using a smartphone

Smartphone microscopes can be useful tools for a broad range of imaging applications. This manuscript demonstrates the first practical implementation of Microscopy with Ultraviolet Surface Excitation (MUSE) in a compact smartphone microscope called Pocket MUSE, resulting in a remarkably effective design. Fabricated with parts from consumer electronics that are readily available at low cost, the small optical module attaches directly over the rear lens in a smartphone. It enables high-quality multichannel fluorescence microscopy with submicron resolution over a 10× equivalent field of view. In addition to the novel optical configuration, Pocket MUSE is compatible with a series of simple, portable, and user-friendly sample preparation strategies that can be directly implemented for various microscopy applications for point-of-care diagnostics, at-home health monitoring, plant biology, STEM education, environmental studies, etc.