Medical apps in need of optical microspectrometers

Apps have been used for providing additional user functionality on demand to the smartphone. Several highly promising medical apps have been introduced that rely on the build-in camera. However, some of these apps fall short of theexpectations, due to the inherent limitation of the camera to operation in the visible spectral range. The more detailed spectral information that an optical micro spectrometer can offer is needed. Although CMOS-compatible MEMS technologiesenable the on-chip integration of the micro spectrometer with the CMOS camera, implementing such a step would result ina device that would be considered a customized unit within a universal platform. Consequently, the economic viability would depend on the added value of the micro spectrometer in popular applications versus the intrusion of the micro spectrometer-specificprocessing on the imager fabrication. The LVOF-based micro spectrometer is introduced as a CMOS compatible concept to meet the challenges imposed by the high production volume that is characteristic for the smartphone.The state-of-the-art of both the interactive optical app and the LVOF-based micro spectrometer are presented.