Scientists at the University of Strathclyde have created the world's first fully 3D printed microscope in under three hours and for less than fifty pound sterling – a fraction of the cost of traditional devices. Using a publicly available design from the website OpenFlexure the scientists produced the microscope’s frame – and clear plastic lenses they designed themselves – using low-cost, accessible 3D printers.

The microscope was completed by adding a shop-bought camera and a light, with the whole device controlled by a Raspberry Pi computer processor.

To test the imaging performance of the system, the scientists used standard test samples: a stained blood smear and a stained, thin section of mouse kidney. The microscope demonstrated sub-cellular resolution, clearly imaging individual red blood cells and detailed structures in the kidney sample.

The microscope uses a single lens with a 2.9× magnification, which is on the lower end of the spectrum, but its resolving power – essentially how clearly a sample can be seen – is what is most important for diagnostic purposes. Traditional diagnostic microscopes can typically cost between 10,000 and 15,000 pound.

The key element to the scope is the plastic, 3D lenses, which Prof Gail McConnell and Dr Liam Rooney have been working with colleagues around the world to perfect for three years.

The frame the researchers’ device was built from is already used for diagnostic imaging in low-income settings, but the unique combination of this with the 3D-printed lenses – each costing eleven pence to make – is what makes the microscope more accessible, cheaper and quicker to build.

A critical step in getting to this point was being able to ensure control over the shape of the lens and removing any ‘stepping artefacts’ caused when 3D printers add layer upon layer of plastic to build up a structure. (Source: U Strathclyde)