Adapter connects smartphones to microscopes for scientific photography

The SkyLight device holds the user's smartphone camera steady over the eyepiece of a microscope so as to enable the user to take pictures with the phone of the images seen through the microscope.

It wasn’t long ago that we covered MobiUS’s use of smartphone technology to provide portable ultrasound imaging, and recently we came across a related innovation. Aiming to expand smartphone photography even further into the scientific realm, the SkyLight is a sleek, minimalist adapter that connects smartphones to microscopes. Now available for preorder on Kickstarter, where it has been successfully funded, the SkyLight device holds the user’s smartphone camera steady over the eyepiece of a microscope so as to enable the user to take pictures with the phone of the images seen through the microscope. Compatible with any smartphone and almost every microscope, the device is intended for a range of global health and educational applications, as well as personal photography. The device’s San Francisco-based makers explain: “For the health worker in Malawi, Africa, the SkyLight will enable circa 1980 microscopes to send diagnostic images to the nearest doctor, who may be separated by hundreds of miles.” The video below explains the premise further: Preorder pricing on Kickstarter is currently USD 60, with shipping scheduled for March. In addition, for every five SkyLights purchased, one more will be donated for global health or educational purposes. Science, health and photography entrepreneurs: be inspired! Spotted by: Raymond Neo