A new product currently on Kickstarter will allow users to take pictures with 400x zoom using their smartphones, effectively transforming the devices into microscopes.
The smartphone accessory, named the Nurugo Micro, is described as the smallest and lightest digital microscope, featuring magnification of up to 400x and high resolution.
The Nurugo Micro is simply attached to the user's smartphone using a clip, and is designed with ease of use and portability in mind for the user's convenience.
The accessory uses no power and needs no form of cable connection, which means that it can be used at any time as long as the smartphone's camera is functioning.
At the time of writing, with five days to go in its Kickstarter campaign, the Nurugo Micro already has nearly 3,000 backers to blast through its initial goal of $50,000 with more than $180,000 in raised funds.
The campaign has already reached its first three stretch goals, which include the addition of a measurement tool and prepared slides, along with a time lapse function to the Nurugo Micro's companion app, the Nurugo Box. The next stretch goal of $200,000 will lead to the development of an iPhone case with a built-in Nurugo Micro.
Interested backers can still make a pledge of $39 to the campaign to be able to receive a Nurugo Micro package, which includes the accessory and its mounting clip, a fixing ring to illuminate the object to be photographed, a light guide to eliminate shadows, and a focus guide to make adjustments to focus manually.
The estimated shipping date for the Nurugo Micro is in May, with shipping available for anywhere in the world.
According to Nurugo, the accessory will be beneficial not only to scientists, researchers and medical professionals, as students and even children will be able to feed their thirst for knowledge with the Nurugo Micro.
Actual usage of microscopes in smartphones is already helping improve the diagnosis of skin cancer in developing countries. Makeshift smartphone microscopes developed in a study are said to allow doctors working in remote areas to take images of skin samples, which can then be examined by pathologists to detect skin cancer cases.
