Comments on: Fluorescent microscopy using a cellphone and lenses http://boingboing.net/2009/07/24/fluorescent-microsco.html Brain candy for Happy Mutants Tue, 21 May 2013 23:03:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2009/07/24/fluorescent-microsco.html#comment-551944 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-551944 I feel for the researchers: A classmate of mine did his dissertation using a mobile phone to do some simple image processing and use that to drive a robot (in the end, it followed a yellow ball). While it worked fine in the end, apparently there was no camera in the emulator, J2ME hadn't the rights to get pixel data... Basically this whole thing must have been a huge pain in the butt to program. I'd wager they didn't do that automatic counting thing on the phone, just due to the pain-in-the-butt-ness of it all. And: ah-ha! : "For reasons of simplicity we implemented the automated particle count on a laptop computer onto which we had transferred the images, but phone computational resources are sufficient for such tasks to be performed on-phone," What I'm basically saying is that this kind of stuff is the reason to be excited about Android and the iPhone. When our old handsets trickle into the third world and they can be easily reprogrammed and extended, apps like this can be made in a third of the time. I feel for the researchers: A classmate of mine did his dissertation using a mobile phone to do some simple image processing and use that to drive a robot (in the end, it followed a yellow ball). While it worked fine in the end, apparently there was no camera in the emulator, J2ME hadn’t the rights to get pixel data… Basically this whole thing must have been a huge pain in the butt to program. I’d wager they didn’t do that automatic counting thing on the phone, just due to the pain-in-the-butt-ness of it all. And: ah-ha! : “For reasons of simplicity we implemented the automated particle count on a laptop computer onto which we had transferred the images, but phone computational resources are sufficient for such tasks to be performed on-phone,”

What I’m basically saying is that this kind of stuff is the reason to be excited about Android and the iPhone. When our old handsets trickle into the third world and they can be easily reprogrammed and extended, apps like this can be made in a third of the time.

]]> By: Keeper of the Lantern http://boingboing.net/2009/07/24/fluorescent-microsco.html#comment-550686 Keeper of the Lantern Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-550686 That is potentially phenomenal news, perhaps too good to be true. If the microscope requires those uber-expensive lenses then it's almost worthless. On the other hand, if it really is cheap, then this means 3rd world doctors could quickly transmit images to more-equipped doctors and rapidly get to the bottom of a local outbreak. That would be really something. That is potentially phenomenal news, perhaps too good to be true. If the microscope requires those uber-expensive lenses then it’s almost worthless.

On the other hand, if it really is cheap, then this means 3rd world doctors could quickly transmit images to more-equipped doctors and rapidly get to the bottom of a local outbreak.

That would be really something.

]]> By: Secret_Life_of_Plants http://boingboing.net/2009/07/24/fluorescent-microsco.html#comment-550790 Secret_Life_of_Plants Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-550790 Because the story is published in the PLos - the open access Public Library of Science, you can read about it for free instead of subscribing to an expensive science journal / racket. I would think BoingBoing people would love the PLoS. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0006320 Because the story is published in the PLos – the open access Public Library of Science, you can read about it for free instead of subscribing to an expensive science journal / racket. I would think BoingBoing people would love the PLoS.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0006320

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2009/07/24/fluorescent-microsco.html#comment-550830 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-550830 Seems like it could be the precursor to a medical tricorder. Seems like it could be the precursor to a medical tricorder.

]]> By: Neuron http://boingboing.net/2009/07/24/fluorescent-microsco.html#comment-551411 Neuron Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-551411 Did they put a microscope on a cell phone or did they put a cell phone on a microscope? Did they put a microscope on a cell phone or did they put a cell phone on a microscope?

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