While its power and quality equate those of desktop microscopes worth thousands of dollars, it can be manufactured for under USD 0.50 using three-dimensional (3D) printing. The microscope is made of cheap and abundant material (paper) and requires minimal assembly skills, keeping production costs low. Designed by Professor Manu Prakash of Stanford University, the Foldscope is being tested in India and Uganda as a diagnostic tool for malaria and other acute bacterial diseases.