New microscope the size of an iPod.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Brief article

The old optical microscopes that everyone used in high-school biology class may be a step closer to the glass heap, as researchers at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, have announced the invention of an optofluidic microscope that uses no lens elements and could revolutionize the diagnosis of certain diseases such as malaria. Although similar in resolution and magnifying power to a conventional top-quality optical microscope, the optofluidic chip is only the size of a quarter, and the entire device--imaging screen and all--will be about the size of an iPod.

"This is a new way of doing microscopy," declares Changhuei Yang, assistant professor of electrical engineering. "Its imaging principle is similar to the way we see floaters in our eyes. If you can see it in a conventional microscope and it can flow in a microfluidic channel, we can image it with this tiny chip."

That list of target objects includes many pathogens that are most dangerous to human life and health, including the organism that causes malaria. The typical method of diagnosing malaria is to draw a blood sample and send it to a lab where the sample can be inspected for malaria...