Indian-led team makes cheap, electricity-free centrifuge for Covid-19 tests

They said the cheap centrifuge can be assembled using readily available components for a cost less than five USD per unit

Researchers, led by an Indian scientist, have developed a cheap, electricity free centrifuge to separate components in patient saliva samples for the detection of the novel coronavirus, an advance that may increase accessibility of Covid-19 diagnostics in poor regions of the world.

According to the scientists, including Manu Prakash from Stanford University in the US, the 'Handyfuge' device spins sample-containing tubes at very high speeds, enough to separate the virus genome from patient saliva samples, without needing electricity.

They said the cheap centrifuge, described in a yet-to-be peer-reviewed study published in the platform medRxiv, can be assembled using readily available components for