# Superb article on assessing the OFM for diagnostic use in the Philippines **URL:** \ **Category:** Applications\ **Created:** [4 December 2023 10:40 UTC](https://openflexure.discourse.group/t/superb-article-on-assessing-the-ofm-for-diagnostic-use-in-the-philippines/1406 "2023-12-04T10:40:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![j.stirling](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/openflexure.discourse.group/j.stirling/32/3_2.png) [@j.stirling](https://openflexure.discourse.group/u/j.stirling)\ **Post date:** [4 December 2023 10:40 UTC](https://openflexure.discourse.group/t/superb-article-on-assessing-the-ofm-for-diagnostic-use-in-the-philippines/1406/1 "2023-12-04T10:40:44Z")
I have just stumbled across this article in PLOS Global Health on assessing the OFM for diagnostic use in the Philippines > **[Utilization of accessible resources in the fabrication of an affordable,...](https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pgph.0002070)** > > Philippine clinical laboratory licensing requirements mandate that diagnostic microscopy for Tuberculosis (TB) sputum microscopy, urinalysis, pap smears, wet smears, an option for complete blood count, stool exams, and malaria thick and thin smears... Very much worth a read, with a lot of consideration for both local production and a comparison between the OFM and another microscope on pathology teaching slides. ---
**Author:** ![WilliamW](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/openflexure.discourse.group/williamw/32/106_2.png) [@WilliamW](https://openflexure.discourse.group/u/WilliamW)\ **Post date:** [4 December 2023 12:16 UTC](https://openflexure.discourse.group/t/superb-article-on-assessing-the-ofm-for-diagnostic-use-in-the-philippines/1406/2 "2023-12-04T12:16:21Z")
This is a really nice discussion of the potential and remaining hurdles. The comparisons are particularly informative, as well as the assessment of the way the workflow would fit with existing practices. ---
**Author:** ![JohemianKnapsody](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/openflexure.discourse.group/johemianknapsody/32/1848_2.png) [@JohemianKnapsody](https://openflexure.discourse.group/u/JohemianKnapsody)\ **Post date:** [4 December 2023 15:02 UTC](https://openflexure.discourse.group/t/superb-article-on-assessing-the-ofm-for-diagnostic-use-in-the-philippines/1406/3 "2023-12-04T15:02:15Z")
That’s amazing, first we’ve heard about it here. @dgrosen could they be a point of contact for Dr Albarracin? ---
**Author:** ![biodotpe](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/openflexure.discourse.group/biodotpe/32/1038_2.png) [@biodotpe](https://openflexure.discourse.group/u/biodotpe)\ **Post date:** [6 December 2023 15:50 UTC](https://openflexure.discourse.group/t/superb-article-on-assessing-the-ofm-for-diagnostic-use-in-the-philippines/1406/4 "2023-12-06T15:50:13Z")
Finally, it’s out! Self-ashamed about this comment: I am happy to have contributed to the Peer Review process. In case you want to know how it was: [Utilization of accessible resources in the fabrication of an affordable, portable, high-resolution, 3D printed, digital microscope for Philippine diagnostic applications | PLOS Global Public Health](https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article/peerReview?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0002070) ---
**Author:** ![gerrit](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/openflexure.discourse.group/gerrit/32/1846_2.png) [@gerrit](https://openflexure.discourse.group/u/gerrit)\ **Post date:** [28 October 2024 11:11 UTC](https://openflexure.discourse.group/t/superb-article-on-assessing-the-ofm-for-diagnostic-use-in-the-philippines/1406/5 "2024-10-28T11:11:20Z")
I was reading an article on diagnostic techniques for TB this morning and came across the Octopi microscope towards the end of the article: > **[The Forgotten Pandemic](https://www.asimov.press/p/forgotten-pandemic)** > > Humans have suffered from tuberculosis for thousands of years and, even today, the disease kills more than 1 million people each year. Yet diagnosing cases remains a challenge. Why? Has anyone heard of the Octopi and how it compares to OFM? > **[Octopi - Cephla](https://cephla.com/product/octopi/)** > > Est. reading time: 1 minute As an aside, it was fun to learn that the article mentioned at the beginning of this thread cited my own journal article on open-source hardware for medical devices! 😃