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Domestic researchers have developed a device that can diagnose a bacterial infection with a simple hand gesture, such as turning a toy. It is expected that the production cost per piece is only 600 won, and accurate diagnosis can be made within an hour, which will greatly assist in rapid treatment and dosing.

Reporter Jin-Oh Kim covered.

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culture test is needed to diagnose bacterial infections, which are manifested by various symptoms, from abdominal pain to stroke.

It grows microorganisms in body tissues or body fluids to find out which bacteria are in them and how long it takes more than a day.

For this reason, in small clinics or low-income countries, antibiotics are prescribed only by symptoms without accurate diagnosis, leading to misuse of antibiotics.

The Institute of Basic Sciences has developed a microfluidic chip that can diagnose bacterial infections using the principle of the toy fidget spinner, which was once popular.

The principle is to find out the type and concentration of bacteria by adding a bodily fluid to a spinner, rotating it rapidly, and concentrating pathogens more than 100 times, and then adding reagents.

[Cho Yun-Kyung / IBS Advanced Soft Materials Research Group Group Leader: It is a diagnostic device that anyone can use anytime, anywhere, even when electricity is not available because it has the function of concentrating bacteria from urine using rotating force.]

5 minutes to concentrate pathogens , 45 minutes is enough to identify bacteria by reagent reaction, so you can complete all diagnostic procedures in less than an hour.

As a result of conducting tests on bacterial patients at a local hospital in India, it showed higher diagnostic accuracy than culture tests.

It can be easily used by non-experts, and the production cost is only 600 won per piece, so it is expected to help greatly in improving the medical environment in rural areas or underdeveloped countries that lack medical infrastructure.