A cheap plasma centrifuge can separate plasma from blood in 90 seconds . The hand - powered Paperfuge was developed by Stanford bioengineer Man Prakash and can spin samples at up to 100 revolutions per minute ( rpm ) . In contrast , a commercial StatSpin MP centrifuge takes up to two minutes to perform a plasma test , at 15,800 rpm . Prakash was inspired by the use of a toy called a whirligig in creating the device , which is a critical tool in the diagnosis of infections such as HIV and malaria .
A cheap cardboard centrifuge can separate plasma from blood in 90 seconds. The hand-powered Paperfuge was developed by Stanford bioengineer Man Prakash and can spin samples at up to 125,000 revolutions per minute (rpm). In contrast, a commercial StatSpin MP centrifuge takes up to two minutes to perform a plasma separation, at 15,800 rpm. Prakash was inspired by the design of a toy called a whirligig in making the device, which is a critical tool in the diagnosis of infections such as HIV and malaria.