Overall system assembly. Figure 4A shows the real-time microchip PCR system with a compact fluorescence detector, fully controlled by an MCU module and powered by a battery. The complete system fits in a 2561668 cm3 box and weighs less than 843 g. Critical processing information and results, including fluorescent readout from the PMT, current thermocycle number, current thermocycle step, and temperature of the reaction chamber were displayed on the LCD display (Figure 4B). The MCU module consumed about 110 mAh for one PCR run that includes one hot-start cycle and 35 PCR thermocycles, meaning that more than 20 PCR runs can be conducted from a single battery charge. The compact system size and efficient energy consumption of our system makes this system more suitable for onfield plant pathogen diagnostics than other portable real-time PCR systems that still require additional instrumentations such as a laptop or additional control modules [