Researchers from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland built a 3D-printed microscope in under three hours at a total cost of less than GBP 50 (around $60 at current exchange rates). According to New Scientist, the team based their design on OpenFlexure’s open-source microscope design and then paired it with a store-bought camera, a light source, and a Raspberry Pi to control the entire system. However, the groundbreaking part of this low-cost 3D-printable microscope is the use of 3D-printed clear plastic lenses that the research team built.
Traditional lab-grade microscope lenses often cost thousands of dollars, meaning this design makes microscopes far more accessible to anyone. We’ve previously seen DIY Raspberry Pi microscopes that can take impressive close-up photos; while they’re useful for imaging small fine objects, they’re not capable of seeing at the cellular level. In 2022, computer scientist Gary Croft created a high-quality microscope camera that captures images from a microscope. While this is far more affordable than other microscope cameras at just GBP 85 (around $105), it still doesn’t include the price of a Raspberry Pi (which starts at $35) and the trinocular microscope itself (which costs more than $250 on Amazon).
