A Hand-Powered, Portable, Low-Cost Centrifuge for Diagnosing Anemia in Low-Resource Settings
Open Access
- 1 August 2011
- journal article
- Published by American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
- Vol. 85 (2), 327-332
- https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.2011.10-0399
Abstract
This report describes the development of a hand-powered centrifuge to determine hematocrit values in low-resource settings. A hand-powered centrifuge was constructed by using a salad spinner. Hematocrit values were measured by using the hand-powered device, and results were compared with those of a benchtop centrifuge. The packed cell volume (PCV) measured with the hand-powered device correlated linearly with results obtained with a benchtop centrifuge (r = 0.986, P < 0.001). The PCVs measured with the hand-powered centrifuge were consistently 1.14 times higher than those measured with the benchtop system. The 14% increase in PCV measured with the hand-powered centrifuge is caused by increased plasma trapped in the cell column. The reader card was adjusted to compensate for trapped plasma. A hand-powered centrifuge and calibrated reader card can be constructed for U.S. $35 and can accurately determine hematocrit values. It is suitable for use in low-resource settings because it is mechanically-powered, inexpensive, and accurate.Keywords
This publication has 9 references indexed in Scilit:
- Egg beater as centrifuge: isolating human blood plasma from whole blood in resource-poor settingsLab on a Chip, 2008
- Design of Health Care Technologies for the Developing WorldAnnual Review of Biomedical Engineering, 2007
- Diagnosing anaemia in pregnancy in rural clinics: assessing the potential of the Haemoglobin Colour Scale.1999
- Comparing methods of measurement: why plotting difference against standard method is misleadingThe Lancet, 1995
- Psychophysical bases of perceived exertionMedicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 1982
- Re‐assessment of the Reliability of the HaematocritBritish Journal of Haematology, 1972
- The Correction of Mean Cell Volume and Mean Cell Haemoglobin ConcentrationJournal of Clinical Pathology, 1955
- Correction for Plasma Trapped in the Red Cell Column of the HematocritBlood, 1952
- The plasma in the packed cell column of the haematocritJournal Of Physiology-London, 1951