Worms detected by iphone

Scientists used an iphone 4s to diagnose intestinal worm infections in school children in rural Tanzania. They attached an $8 ball lens to the handset camera lens; and used a cheap torch and double sided tape to create an improvised microscope. Pictures were then taken of stool samples placed on lab slides, wrapped in cellophane and taped to the phone. They were studied for the presence of eggs, the main symptom of the parasite. When the results were double checked with a laboratory light microscopic, the device had managed to pick up 70 percent of the sample with infections present and 90 percent of the heavier infections. Other smart phones can also be used for this.- BBC