A FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPE FOR UNDER 500 DOLLARS, AND IT KEEPS UP WITH AN OLYMPUS
A 500-dollar fluorescence microscope that tracked an Olympus IX73 with R² = 0.98 on the same samples.
by Michio Kawai, Haruka Oda, Hisatoshi Mimura, Toshihisa Osaki, Shoji Takeuchi
ScienceOpen-hardware
Built withRaspberry Pi3D printing
- difficulty
- ●●●●○
- time
- a weekend-plus
- license
- CC-BY-4.0
- repo
- repo FINISHED0 stars
●●●●○ · a weekend-plus · CC-BY-4.0 · 0 stars · repo FINISHED
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
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COMPAREE VERDICT
This is a working fluorescence microscope built from a Raspberry Pi 4, the HQ Camera, high-power LEDs, a 6 mm wide-angle lens and a 7-inch touchscreen. It images a 21 x 15 mm field of view and the authors put the hardware at under 500 dollars, with the two optical filters being the most expensive parts. Kawai and colleagues at the University of Tokyo imaged the same fluorescent dye array on it and on an Olympus IX73 lab microscope, and the intensity readings showed a strong linear relationship (R² = 0.98). The entire thing fits in a 19.2 x 13.6 x 8.2 cm box. It is published as an open-access paper, not a GitHub repo: the parts table and build steps are in the paper, and the STL files and Python app are on Zenodo. If you are comfortable with that format and know what excitation and emission filters you need, this is a cheap, validated way into fluorescence imaging. The single thing most likely to go wrong is ordering the wrong filter set for your dye: the paper only specifies the pair it used for green fluorescence, and there is no troubleshooting guide. If you have never aligned an optical path or selected filters before, this will be harder than the paper makes it look.
IN THE REPO
GOOD TO KNOW
- —Published as a peer-reviewed paper in HardwareX, with all files in a Zenodo repository rather than on GitHub.
- —The bill of materials, with parts, suppliers and prices, is a table in the paper itself.
- —Python control software and CAD files for the case are in the authors' Zenodo repository.
- —Licence is CC BY 4.0 — commercial use is permitted with attribution.
- —No assembly guide in the traditional maker sense; you work from the methods section and figures.
- —The paper validates performance against an Olympus IX73; the readings tracked with R² = 0.98.
Parts to buy
6 itemsFrom our check of the build. Exact quantities and part numbers are in the creator’s BOM.
Can I build this?
Build at your own risk. Projects involve tools, electronics and sometimes mains voltage — follow the creator’s safety notes.
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Start here
Navigation into the creator’s own docs — we don’t rewrite the guide, we route you to the source.
- 1.Read the paper and download the supplementary files (The paper has a parts table and step-by-step build instructions; CAD files and Python code are on Zenodo (doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8331548).)
- 2.Order the parts from the bill of materials(Most critical: get the correct excitation and emission filters for the fluorophores you plan to image. The paper lists theirs; yours may differ.)
- 3.Print the light-blocking case(The enclosure, cover, LED box, sample platform and camera jig are STL files on Zenodo (doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8331548). The enclosure blocks ambient light so you do not need a darkroom; it also keeps the bright LEDs out of your eyes.)
- 4.Assemble the optics and align the LED excitation path(Follow the methods section; you will need a test sample to verify alignment and focus.)
- 5.Install the Python control software on the Pi(The code is in the supplements. You control LED intensity and image capture through this.)
KNOWN ISSUES
- Ordering the wrong excitation or emission filters for your dye: the paper specifies one pair for green fluorescence (Asahi Spectra SV0490 and LV0530, about 100 dollars each). If you are imaging anything else, you need to work out the wavelengths yourself, and there is no filter selection guide.
- Underestimating the alignment step — this is not plug-and-play; you need to position the LEDs and optics so the excitation light is even and the emission reaches the camera cleanly.
- Skipping the light-blocking case — the high-power LEDs are a genuine eye hazard and ambient light will ruin your images.
- Expecting a traditional build guide — this is a methods section in a scientific paper, written for someone who already knows fluorescence microscopy; if you do not, you will spend time learning as you go.
- Not having fluorescent samples to test with — you cannot validate the build or tune the settings without something that actually fluoresces.
- Expecting perfect geometry: the wide-angle lens distorts the edges of the 21 x 15 mm field by up to about 1.6 mm. That is fine for measuring fluorescence intensity, but take it into account if you measure shapes or positions.
How does it compare to a commercial fluorescence microscope?
They ran it beside an Olympus IX73 on the same fluorescent dye array and the intensity measurements tracked with R² = 0.98. For quantitative imaging of fluorescent samples, the performance is validated. You lose the build quality, support and optical refinement of a commercial instrument.
Can I use it for live cell imaging?
Partly. Besides dye arrays, the paper images living insect sensor cells (with a green calcium indicator) lighting up when they detect an odorant. It is a 21 x 15 mm wide-field device, though — no environmental control and no cellular-level magnification.
What fluorophores can I image?
The paper is built and tested for green fluorescence: an SV0490 excitation filter in the LED box and an LV0530 emission filter in front of the lens, used on yellow-green fluorescent microspheres and GCaMP3 calcium-indicator cells. The filters, LEDs and lens are interchangeable by design, so other fluorophores need a matching filter pair and possibly different LEDs, but the authors did not test any.
Is there a repository with the files?
Yes — not on GitHub, but all CAD files, the schematic and the Python code are on Zenodo (doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8331548) under CC BY 4.0.
What is the resolution?
The HQ Camera is 12.3 megapixels imaging a 21 x 15 mm field of view. The paper does not report a resolution target or MTF; the focus is on quantitative fluorescence intensity, not resolving fine structures.
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Discussion1
FROM THE COMPAREE TEAM
The validation run tracked an Olympus IX73 lab microscope with an R² of 0.98 on the same samples, and the paper puts the hardware at about 500 dollars. If you had this on your bench, what would you image first?
Michio Kawai, Haruka Oda, Hisatoshi Mimura, Toshihisa Osaki, Shoji Takeuchi
Researchers at the University of Tokyo built this to make fluorescence microscopy accessible outside core facilities. They validated it against an Olympus IX73 and published the design in HardwareX.
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- Information is provided without warranty and may become outdated as projects evolve. Prices are indicative bands only — always check the creator’s parts list for current costs.
- Building and operating any project is at your own responsibility. Protective equipment, safe workshop practice and compliance with local regulations are the builder’s responsibility.
CompareeTEAM27d agoedited
Practical notes from our verification: this is published as a peer-reviewed HardwareX paper, not a traditional GitHub repo — the bill of materials and build instructions are in the paper, and the software and design files are on Zenodo (doi 10.5281/zenodo.8331548). Paper and files are open access under CC BY 4.0. The single biggest decision is the filter set: the authors use an Asahi Spectra SV0490 filter in the LED box and an LV0530 filter in front of the lens, and these two filters are the most expensive items on the list. If you are imaging a different fluorophore you need to look up its excitation and emission wavelengths yourself and order matching filters — that is the step that will cost you time if you get it wrong. The validation is solid: the same dye array was imaged on this device and on an Olympus IX73 lab microscope, with an R² of 0.98 between the two. Correction (4 October 2026): we re-checked this page line by line against the project's own repository, documentation and videos, and fixed errors in earlier versions.