Democratizing 3D Measurements in the Life Science – DIY & low cost 360° Stereophotogrammetry

Among the available methods to measure the 3D-shape of an object, stereophotogrammetry (SPG) is distinguished because it provides very high precision from a gentle and contactless measurement. SPG has been utilized mainly in industrial applications but is working its way into the life sciences, enabling more quantifiable and therefore comparable analyses. So far, the relatively high cost and technical complexity of a high-end SPG setup prevented its widespread use for non-experts. We developed a low cost, DIY SPG setup, capable of 360° object reconstruction and provide our own reconstruction algorithm. All resources and assembly instructions will be published as a blueprint for reproduction. Consequently, all python code of the programs needed to control the setup and perform reconstructions are available open source too. This level of automation enables inexperienced users to acquire fast results and facilitate prolonged experiments focused on progression. We show that one iteration of the setup is able to resolve single mouse whiskers with a diameter of ~20 µm, while the latest variant is optimized to measure fruit flies – reaching isotropic (sub)-cellular resolution levels.