Here are six key notes:
1. A Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges in Global Health Initiative grant funded the device’s development.
2. A plastic, small digital fluorescence microscope, the device observes white blood cell levels.
3. The microscope counts lymphocytes, monocytes and granulocytes in a drop of blood combined with a staining compound, which is repelled by water at neutral pH. It turns green or red when coming into contact with DNA or RNA.
4. Researchers can count the white blood cells in a sample of 20 microliters of dye, 20 microliters of whole blood and a glass slide.
5. The microscope costs $3,000 to construct, and is expected to be on the market for $600 per unit.
6. Designed for rural areas of the world, the device is intended to help those patients without access to modern medical equipment.
“Many systems which work for point-of-care applications have quite expensive cartridges,” said Tomasz Tkacyk, associate professor in department of bioengineering, Rice University. “The goal of this research is to make it possible for those in impoverished areas to be able to get the testing they need at a manageable price point.”
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