ArticlePloS one2016
LudusScope: Accessible Interactive Smartphone Microscopy for Life-Science Education.
Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 21 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 82 citations in OpenAlex.
- Use of a 3D-printed smartphone microscope adapter in a general biology lab course.Journal of microbiology & biology education · 2026Article
- Motilitometer: A compact modular microscope for motility and photoresponse analysis of microorganisms.HardwareX · 2026Article
- Integrating Machine Learning with Flow-Imaging Microscopy for Automated Monitoring of Algal Blooms.Environmental science & technology · 2025Article
- Advances in Portable Optical Microscopy Using Cloud Technologies and Artificial Intelligence for Medical Applications.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Introducing ARTiMiS: A Low-Cost Flow Imaging Microscope for Microalgal Monitoring.Environmental science & technology · 2024Article
- A commentary on the development and use of smartphone imaging devices.Biophysical reviews · 2024Article
- A low-cost smartphone fluorescence microscope for research, life science education, and STEM outreach.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Euglena International Network (EIN): Driving euglenoid biotechnology for the benefit of a challenged world.Biology open · 2022Article
- A review on low-cost microscopes for Open Science.Microscopy research and technique · 2022Review
- Picroscope: low-cost system for simultaneous longitudinal biological imaging.Communications biology · 2021Article
- Improvement of allograft kidney biopsy yield by using a handheld smartphone microscope as an on-site evaluation device.Heliyon · 2021Article
- Demonstrating the Use of Optical Fibres in Biomedical Sensing: A Collaborative Approach for Engagement and Education.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Frontiers in Microfluidics, a Teaching Resource Review.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019Review
- Scientific Discovery Games for Biomedical Research.Annual review of biomedical data science · 2019Article
- "Learning on a chip:" Microfluidics for formal and informal science education.Biomicrofluidics · 2019Review
- Harnessing robotic automation and web-based technologies to modernize scientific outreach.PLoS biology · 2019Article
- Interactive programming paradigm for real-time experimentation with remote living matter.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2019Article
- Article
- Gut Check: The evolution of an educational board game.PLoS biology · 2017Article
- EnLightenment: High resolution smartphone microscopy as an educational and public engagement platform.Wellcome open research · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
For centuries, observational microscopy has greatly facilitated biology education, but we still cannot easily and playfully interact with the microscopic world we see. We therefore developed the LudusScope, an accessible, interactive do-it-yourself smartphone microscopy platform that promotes exploratory stimulation and observation of microscopic organisms, in a design that combines the educational modalities of build, play, and inquire. The LudusScope's touchscreen and joystick allow the selection and stimulation of phototactic microorganisms such as Euglena gracilis with light. Organismal behavior is tracked and displayed in real time, enabling open and structured game play as well as scientific inquiry via quantitative experimentation. Furthermore, we used the Scratch programming language to incorporate biophysical modeling. This platform is designed as an accessible, low-cost educational kit for easy construction and expansion. User testing with both teachers and students demonstrates the educational potential of the LudusScope, and we anticipate additional synergy with the maker movement. Transforming observational microscopy into an interactive experience will make microbiology more tangible to society, and effectively support the interdisciplinary learning required by the Next Generation Science Standards.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.