P-TDHM: Open-source portable telecentric digital holographic microscope

Lei Jin; Ziyang Yu; Aaron Au; Peter Serles; Nan Wang; Jeremy T Lant; Tobin Filleter; Christopher M Yip

doi:10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00508

P-TDHM: Open-source portable telecentric digital holographic microscope

HardwareX. 2024 Jan 26:17:e00508. doi: 10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00508. eCollection 2024 Mar.

Authors

Lei Jin^{1

2}, Ziyang Yu^{1

2}, Aaron Au^{1

2}, Peter Serles³, Nan Wang⁴, Jeremy T Lant^{2

5}, Tobin Filleter³, Christopher M Yip^{1

2

6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Biomedical Engineering, 164 College St, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G9, Canada.
² Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, 160 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E1, Canada.
³ Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, 5 King's College Road, Toronto, ON M5S 3G8, Canada.
⁴ Civil and Environmental Engineering, 527 College Avenue, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, United States.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, Canada.
⁶ Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry, 200 College St, Toronto, ON M5S 3E5, Canada.
⁷ Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada.

Abstract

We present the design of a low-cost, portable telecentric digital holographic microscope (P-TDHM) that utilizes off-the-shelf components. We describe the system's hardware and software elements and evaluate its performance by imaging samples ranging from nano-printed targets to live HeLa cells, HEK293 cells, and Dolichospermum via both in-line and off-axis modes. Our results demonstrate that the system can acquire high quality quantitative phase images with nanometer axial and sub-micron lateral resolution in a small form factor, making it a promising candidate for resource-limited settings and remote locations. Our design represents a significant step forward in making telecentric digital holographic microscopy accessible and affordable to the broader community.

Keywords: Holographic microscopy; Portable microscope; Portable telecentric digital holographic microscopy; Quantitative phase imaging.