title: A hand-powered, portable, low-cost centrifuge for diagnosing anemia in low-resource settings.
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.
authors.affiliation: Rice University Institute for Global Health Technologies, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Jocelyn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Theis
authors.forename: Lila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kerr
authors.forename: Nazima
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zakhidova
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uthman
authors.forename: Z Maria
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Oden
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Richards-Kortum
mesh_terms: D000740:Anemia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002498:Centrifugation / Q000191:economics* / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006295:Health Resources; D006400:Hematocrit; D006801:Humans; D011203:Poverty