January 28, 2017 at 10:48 am

This DIY Centrifuge Costs $0.20 and Can Be Used for Medical Tests in Remote Locations

by twistedsifter

 

At $0.20, ‘paperfuge’ is the cheapest and fastest hand-spun centrifuge ever designed — and can reach speeds up to 125,000 revolutions per minute. Made from cardboard, fishing wire and wood; 90 seconds of spinning is enough to separate a blood sample into red and white blood cells, platelets, and plasma.

A longer spin can separate the part of the blood needed for malaria testing. Nature Video reveals how this invention will allow basic diagnostic tests in areas without laboratory resources or electricity.

The paper has been published in Nature Biomedical Engineering. You can read it here: http://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-016-0009

 

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