Visualization of blood cell contrast in nailfold capillaries with high-speed reverse lens mobile phone microscopy

McKay GN, Mohan N, Butterworth I, Bourquard A, Sanchez-Ferro A, Castro-Gonzalez C, Durr NJ
Biomedical Optics Express 11:4 2020
[Journal Link]

Abstract

Quantification of optical absorption gaps in nailfold capillaries has recently shown promise as a non-invasive technique for neutropenia screening. Here we demonstrate a low-cost, portable attachment to a mobile phone that can resolve optical absorption gaps in nailfold capillaries using a reverse lens technique and oblique 520nm illumination. Resolution < 4 μm within a 1mm² on-axis region is demonstrated, and wide field of view (3.5mm x 4.8mm) imaging is achieved with resolution < 6μm in the periphery. Optical absorption gaps (OAGs) are visible in superficial capillary loops of a healthy human participant by an ∼8-fold difference in contrast-to-noise ratio with respect to red blood cell absorption contrast. High speed video capillaroscopy up to 240 frames per second (fps) is possible, though 60fps is sufficient to resolve an average frequency of 37 OAGs/minute passing through nailfold capillaries. The simplicity and portability of this technique may enable the development of an effective non-invasive tool for white blood cell screening in point-of-care and global health settings.