Infectious diseases such as kill millions every year in third world countries. In the absence of antigen/antibody tests, a microscope is sometimes the only way to confirm diagnoses of bacterial, protozoan, and other microparasitic infections. Heavy expensive microscopes make this impossible for sick people in the poorest places in the world.
While 800 nm is not good enough to see viruses, it can still see many dreaded diseases caused by bacteria such as tuberculosis and protozoans such as malaria.Manu Prakash, a professor at Stanford University and his students have developed a microscope out of a flat sheet of paper, a watch battery, LED, and optical units that when folded together, much like origami, creates a functional instrument with the resolution of 800 nanometers – basically magnifying an object up to 2,000 times.
Super-Cheap Paper Microscope Could Save Millions of Lives