NTDscope: A multi-contrast portable microscope for disease diagnosis

Accurate diagnostics are essential for disease control and elimination efforts. However, access to diagnostics for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) is hindered by limited healthcare infrastructure in many NTD-endemic regions, as well as by reliance on time- and labor-intensive diagnostic methods, such as smear microscopy. New diagnostic tools that are portable, rapid, low-cost, and meet World Health Organization (WHO) sensitivity and specificity targets are urgently needed to accelerate NTD control and elimination programs. Here, we introduce the NTDscope, a portable microscopy platform that enables point-of-care imaging and automated detection of parasites and other pathogens in patient samples. The NTDscope builds on and extends the capabilities of the LoaScope, a device that turned the camera of a mobile phone into a microscope and used on-board image processing to automatically quantify Loa loa microfilariae burden in whole blood samples. The NTDscope replaces the mobile phone of the LoaScope with a system-on-module (SOM) that enables the integration of multiple imaging modalities in a single package designed to improve robustness and expand applications. In this work, we demonstrate the use of the NTDscope as a portable brightfield, darkfield, and fluorescence microscope for samples including microfilariae and helminth eggs. We also show that the device can be used to quantify molecular assays, such as a lateral flow test and a CRISPR-Cas13a-based assay. The ability to combine the diagnostic capabilities of conventional microscopy with molecular assays and machine learning in a single device could expand access to diagnostics for populations in NTD-endemic areas and beyond.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
PLOS Global Public Health
Published
2026-02-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0005937
Primary Topic
Parasitic Diseases Research and Treatment
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

NTDscope: A multi-contrast portable microscope for disease diagnosis

Jaime García-Villena, Elena Dacal, Miguel Luengo-Oroz, Linda Djune Yemeli et al.
PLOS Global Public Health
Parasitic Diseases Research and Treatment
article

NTDscope: A multi-contrast portable microscope for disease diagnosis

Jaime García-Villena, Elena Dacal, Miguel Luengo-Oroz, Linda Djune Yemeli, Joana P. Cabrera, Matthew D. Keller, Jean T. Coulibaly, Abdul Bhuiya, Zannatun Noor, Neil A. Switz, Saskia Dede Davi, David Bermejo-Peláez, Isaac I. Bogoch, Rella Zoleko Manego, Michael V. D’Ambrosio, Victor Pahl, Hugues C. Nana Djeunga, María Díaz de León Derby, Charles B. Delahunt, Dipayan Banik, Daniel A. Fletcher, Rashidul Haque, Joseph Kamgno, Carlos F. Ng, Zaina L. Moussa, Anne-Laure M. Le Ny, Amena Khatun, Daniel H. Friedman, Daniel Cuadrado, Mamun Kabir, Michael Ramharter
article en

Abstract

Accurate diagnostics are essential for disease control and elimination efforts. However, access to diagnostics for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) is hindered by limited healthcare infrastructure in many NTD-endemic regions, as well as by reliance on time- and labor-intensive diagnostic methods, such as smear microscopy. New diagnostic tools that are portable, rapid, low-cost, and meet World Health Organization (WHO) sensitivity and specificity targets are urgently needed to accelerate NTD control and elimination programs. Here, we introduce the NTDscope, a portable microscopy platform that enables point-of-care imaging and automated detection of parasites and other pathogens in patient samples. The NTDscope builds on and extends the capabilities of the LoaScope, a device that turned the camera of a mobile phone into a microscope and used on-board image processing to automatically quantify Loa loa microfilariae burden in whole blood samples. The NTDscope replaces the mobile phone of the LoaScope with a system-on-module (SOM) that enables the integration of multiple imaging modalities in a single package designed to improve robustness and expand applications. In this work, we demonstrate the use of the NTDscope as a portable brightfield, darkfield, and fluorescence microscope for samples including microfilariae and helminth eggs. We also show that the device can be used to quantify molecular assays, such as a lateral flow test and a CRISPR-Cas13a-based assay. The ability to combine the diagnostic capabilities of conventional microscopy with molecular assays and machine learning in a single device could expand access to diagnostics for populations in NTD-endemic areas and beyond.

PLOS Global Public HealthVol. 6(2)
QB3 (US), University Health Network (CA), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (US), Universität Hamburg (DE), University of Toronto (CA), International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (BD), Toronto General Hospital (CA), Centre de Recherche Médicales de Lambaréné (GA), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (DE), Bellevue Hospital Center (US), German Center for Infection Research (DE), Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (United States) (US), Swiss Centre for Scientific Research (CI), Intellectual Ventures (United States) (US), Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny (CI), San Jose State University (US), Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (DE), University of California, Berkeley (US)
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Openalex Percentile: Top 57%
Parasitic Diseases Research and Treatment
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.