Developing the OpenFlexure Microscope towards medical use: Technical and social challenges of developing globally accessible hardware for healthcare
- Joe Knapper
, - Freya Whiteford,
- Daniel Rosen,
- William Wadsworth,
- Julian Stirling,
- Catherine Mkindi,
- Joram Mduda,
- Valerian L Sanga,
- Paul T Nyakyi,
- Thomas Hervé Mboa Nkoudou,
- Elisée Jafsia,
- Stephane Fadanka,
- Kelsey Hummel,
- Sharmila Anandasabapathy,
- Richard Bowman
Freya Whiteford
University of Glasgow
Daniel Rosen
Baylor College of Medicine
William Wadsworth
Department of Physics, University of Bath
Julian Stirling
Foxhill Engineering
Catherine Mkindi
Ifakara Health Institute
Joram Mduda
Ifakara Health Institute
Valerian L Sanga
Bongo Tech and Research Labs
Paul T Nyakyi
Bongo Tech and Research Labs
Thomas Hervé Mboa Nkoudou
Mboalab and African Higher Institute of Open Science and Hardware (AHIOSH)
Elisée Jafsia
Mboalab and African Higher Institute of Open Science and Hardware (AHIOSH)
Stephane Fadanka
Mboalab and African Higher Institute of Open Science and Hardware (AHIOSH)
Kelsey Hummel
MD Anderson Cancer Centre
Sharmila Anandasabapathy
Baylor College of Medicine
Richard Bowman
University of Glasgow
Abstract
The OpenFlexure Microscope is an accessible, 3Dprinted robotic microscope, with sufficient image quality to resolve diagnostic features including parasites and cancerous cells. As access to lab-grade microscopes is a major challenge in global healthcare, the OpenFlexure Microscope has been developed to be manufactured, maintained and used in remote environments, supporting point of care diagnosis. The steps taken in transforming the hardware and software from an academic prototype towards an accepted medical device include addressing technical and social challenges, and are key for any innovation targeting impact in low-resource healthcare.25 Apr 2024Submitted to TechRxiv 02 May 2024Published in TechRxiv
