Cellphone-Based Fourier Ptychography Microscope for Accessible High Speed Imaging

Fourier Ptychography (FP) is a computational imaging technique that enhances optical microscope performance beyond the diffraction limit, yielding high-resolution, large field of view (FOV) reconstructed images. FP enables diverse applications for quantitative high-throughput imaging. However, current FP microscopes struggle to maintain high accessibility while achieving a large space-bandwidth-time product (SBTP). In this paper, we report on a cellphone-based FP microscope for high-speed imaging, making high-performance microscopy accessible to billions of cellphone users worldwide. Using off-the-shelf components with a high-speed image acquisition program, our device achieves 2.2 μm resolution across a 1.6 mm FOV, with 0.6 s capture time for a dataset of 9 images, at a cost of around US${\$}$150. This FP implementation significantly enhances microscope accessibility, especially in resource-limited environments such as space exploration, on-site cellular analysis, and medical diagnostics.