# Three-dimensional, Portable, Inexpensive, and Reusable Tomographic Microscopy

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2023 · $88,450

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Three-dimensional (3D) microscopy offers many promises for biological investigations and medical
applications. However, it is currently limited to well-resourced laboratories in settings with established
infrastructure. Many 3D microscopy techniques (e.g., confocal) rely on focusing light at an array of small
locations within the sample, which requires expensive and specialized equipment. Optical Projection
Tomography (OPT) is a 3D imaging technique that utilizes traditional microscopy equipment; instead of
focusing the light at specific locations, OPT images a sample from many angles to reconstruct a 3D volume.
It is a very effective method for 3D imaging of small translucent objects (e.g., mouse fetuses, parasites, and
large bacteria). While it is possible for OPT to be a lower-cost method of 3D microscopy, existing systems
remain expensive and large. We propose to take advantage of the ubiquitous and high-quality computing
and imaging hardware available in smartphones to make an OPT device that is inexpensive and extremely
portable. We will create a smartphone extension that robustly images a rotating sample and uses the
phone’s computational hardware to reconstruct the 3D volume. Two imaging modalities will be pursued:
visible-band attenuation microscopy (e.g., brightfield) and luminescent microscopy (e.g., bioluminescent).
The components of the smartphone extension are either 3D printed, laser cut acrylic, or readily commercially
available. Thus, the cost of manufacturing the device is extremely small and the total weight of the device is
very low; the total cost of all components will be less than $50. The components of the extension are easily
assembled on site, permitting the device to be transported with in a small package. Due to its low cost and
size, the OPT microscope can also serve as a useful tool for educational purposes (e.g., as part of an
undergraduate laboratory course involving optics) and for generating real data for tomographic algorithm
development. To validate the device, we will build two phantoms with three-dimensional features that allow
us to evaluate the Modulation Transfer Function: one for attenuation microscopy and another for luminescent
microscopy. Aim 1: Build a visible-band tomographic microscope extension to a smartphone. Aim 1A:
Implement 3D cone-beam reconstruction from visible-band sinogram data for samples approximately 10 mm
in size with approximately 10 µm resolution. Aim 1B: Improve the image resolution with a multi-lens optical
system. Aim 2: Implement bioluminescent tomographic microscopy by appropriately modifying the
tomographic reconstruction algorithm. Aim 3: Build two shelf-stable 3D phantoms with features of sizes
varying from 1 µm to 200 µm.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10721691
- **Project number:** 1R03EB034871-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** Nicholas Dwork
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $88,450
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-07-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10721691

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10721691, Three-dimensional, Portable, Inexpensive, and Reusable Tomographic Microscopy (1R03EB034871-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10721691. Licensed CC0.

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