Ahh that is quite interesting, thanks for the link.
I doubt however that "field level" equipment will be ever sensitive enough to pickup those spectra variations that result from different cell structure and composition.

You have to understand that this is not anything I have any expertise in -

However, Raman Spectrometery is a growing field for identification of baterial pathogens. For example this paper .

Regarding that Spectrometer idea: not sure if that would help in this case, as these eggs are "chemically speaking" just another lump of organic material.

They should have probably also tested it with a more affordable phone than an iPhone

Yeah. That thought struck me too.

I'm holding out more hope of a low cost (and calibrated) Raman Spectrometer . The pieces are there and freely available, just needs some serious research to get it in a usable form.

Hmm, obviously this is an early trial but judging from the pictures it will take quite some training to have local staff reliably identify the eggs in those contrast poor images.

They should have probably also tested it with a more affordable phone than an iPhone

P.S.: see also:
allafrica.com/stories/201303130073.html
www.kickstarter.com/projects/968523355/m...one-based-microscope (probably unrelated)
www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/art.../Mobile-Microscopes/ (= more advanced version?)

I saw this paper and thought others might be interested.

Based on our previous conversations about the need to 'clean up' (and concentrate) samples prior to analysis, quite possibly it has limited use. Nonetheless, having a rapid system to identify helminths in the field would surely be a useful tool.