BICYCLE-POWERED CENTRIFUGE BRINGS BLOOD TESTING TO RURAL AFRICA

One small spin for man

Spokefuge, the creation of British designer Jack Albert Trew, is a low-cost bicycle-powered centrifugal system for performing blood tests.

Spokefuge, the creation of British designer Jack Albert Trew, is a low-cost bicycle-powered centrifugal system for performing blood tests. The centrifuge was designed specifically for use in remote parts of Africa, where donated medical supplies from Western countries often have a limited shelf life due to a lack of resources required for maintenance, operation and repairs.

Microhematocrit centrifuge devices spin blood samples at high speeds in order to separate the different densities of blood and determine the ratio of red-cell volume to whole blood volume, or hematocrit. Blood loss, anemia, bone marrow failure and leukemia are among the many disorders that the measurement of hematocrit can help to diagnose.

Currently a prototype, Spokefuge is comprised of seven 3D-printed parts that can be slotted together by hand and attached to almost any bicycle wheel, leaving a swinging arm free to spin on an encased ball-bearing unit inside.

Two or four blood samples are then placed in the provided capillary tubes, where they are sealed within a rubber casing and inserted into the pivoting centrifugal arm. The swinging arm then keeps blood samples level until the spinning wheels reach sufficient speed, at which point gravity causes the containers to move outward and the blood to separate.

Cases in four different colors, which appear to merge into an off-white shade once the spinning wheel reaches sufficient speed, are attached to the spokes. Spokefuge was shortlisted for this year’s James Dyson Award.