PolyScope: a 3D-printed minimal microscopic system #

Wesley Shao, Hermes Gadelha

14:50 Tuesday in 2Q48.

Part of the Self-propulsion and fluid-body interactions session.

Abstract #

The innovative technology of additive manufacturing(‘3D printing’) brings up opportunities for the technology of microscopy, which is widely used for research and educational purposes across biological and medical fields, to be democratized. Devices with high magnifying power could be designed of individualization, produced in mass and re-innovated with ease. However, due to separation between the innovating and applying communities, such a paradigm is currently prevented from fulfilling its full potential. Beyond the variety of 3D-printable microscopes that has been introduced, a generalised methodology is yet in absence. Here, an innovative 3D-printed microscopic system: PolyScope, is presented as a specific device for non-fluorescent observation of microswimmers. Based on its simple but effective design, we discuss the practicalities of a universal method of purpose-guided device development, aiming to maximize the power of innovation in this field. With PolyScope, several applications have been carried out, including microswimmer tracking, cell shape tracing, partical image velocimetry, and multi-body tracking with deep learning method.