A portable device using a single-board computer for white light and uorescence widefield images

摘要

In a world with a growing need for rapid medical diagnosis, point-of-care devices based on optics have becomean interesting solution. Moreover, the low cost, simplicity, and ease of use also become essential to be applied ina clinical environment. Nowadays, smartphones are an attractive, user-friendly option, but the rapid changes inthe models, the variety of brands, and the risk of contamination of personal smartphones in a clinical situationmake this choose not the best one. Single-board computers as Raspberry Pi can be an alternative for a low-costimaging device that allows image acquisition, visualization, and processing. This study describes a portablesystem capable of acquiring and processing white light and fluorescence images, suitable for clinical purposes.The system consists of a single-board computer (Raspberry Pi 3B+, Raspberry Pi Foundation, UK) coupled toa digital camera and a touchscreen display. The portable device comprises six violet LEDs (emitting at 407 nm)to excite the tissue and a long-pass optical filter to acquire the fluorescence images; four white LEDs to obtainthe white light one, besides a digital camera to perform the acquisition itself. The images are saved in the singleboardcomputer, where an algorithm written in Python (Python Foundation) calibrates the camera, acquires,and processes the acquired images, interacting with the user through touch with a GUI. Being a portable, easyto use, low-cost system, this device is convenient to be used in a clinical environment and allows a fast diagnosisand the possibility to be reproduced for widespread point-of-care use.