MARCH 5, 2014

How Manu Prakash's Foldscope is Helping to Fight Malaria

The Foldscope is a fully functional microscope that can be laser- or die-cut out of paper for around 50 cents.

This bookmark-sized microscope can be assembled in minutes, includes no mechanical moving parts, packs in a flat configuration, is extremely rugged and can be incinerated after to safely dispose of infectious biological samples.

With minor optics modifications, the microscope can be designed for brightfield, multi-flourescence or projection microscopy, or specialized to identify specific pathogens.

In this video, the Foldscope's creator Manu Prakash, PhD, discusses how his 50-cent microscope is being used to help identify, diagnose, and prevent malaria.

Read more about the story of Prakash, a bioengineer at Stanford, and his 50-cent microscope on the Stanford Medicine blog at https://stanmed.stanford.edu/manu-prakashs-frugal-science-including-his-1-dollar-microscope-the-foldscope