IIT-Hyderabad Develops World’s Smallest Microscope

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad has developed the world’s smallest microscope, which will help in unravelling the mysteries of the microscopic world, such as blood cells and pathogens that cause diseases.

Muscope, the smallest microscope developed to date, was conceived by Dr. Shishir Kumar and his team of research scholars–Ekta Prajati and Saurav Kumar of the department of electrical engineering.

Muscope is an on-chip microscope and uses only a few off-the-shelf electronic chips, namely an image sensor and a micro LED display, making it ideal for automated assembly and operation.

The team used a micro-LED display to remove the bulk associated with the light source and, at the same time, to provide capabilities for computational imaging. The display consists of micron-sized LED emitters arranged on a rectangular array. The micro-LEDs can be individually switched on, and they are very bright. These unique features of the micro-LEDs allow good quality imaging in restricted space.

“The Muscope can be scaled down further from its already tiny form to harness the benefits of deep integration, enhanced mobility, lower cost, and robustness. Resource-constrained or specialized medical devices, extreme conditions of environmental monitoring, agriculture, and animal husbandry are some domains where Muscope can excel,” the statement said.

Source: IndiaToday