Indian Professor Invents Foldable Microscope to save 51 Billion lives for 68 cents

Last updated May 19, 2021
Written by:
TechNadu Staff
TechNadu Staff
Staff Writer
Manu Prakash Introducing FoldScope.

Inventions and Inventors never stops. Using the power of engineering and brilliant inventions to save lives. An Indian-origin American Professor Manu Prakash Invented a Foldable Microscope called as the Foldscope.

He along with his colleague in the Stanford labs invented 2 great inventions FoldScope and PaperFuge that will be able to save billions of lives. The combined cost is only 68 cents which can be used to diagnose Malaria.

In one of Manu Prakash's Ted talks, he talks about the microscope which folds like origami.

A simple tool like the microscope can be a lifesaver, especially in developing nations where diseases like malaria are ubiquitous. A microscope can correctly diagnose and treat a disease and prevent deaths but access to microscopes is restrained to test labs, causing delays and false diagnoses.

The microscope is built entirely out of paper and it can be made by simply folding it.  Dubbed the Foldscope, the microscope can be fitted on one sheet of A4 paper, which makes it very easy to ship in large quantities.

FoldScope

FoldScope

"You can throw it in water, stand on it, jump on it and throw it from a five-storey building," said Mr Prakash.

Initially, they have made 1,000 of these use and throw microscopes which he mentioned in the talk.

Take a look at this video on how the Foldscope works and his latest invention Paperfuge which are essential for detecting Malaria



For a better user experience we recommend using a more modern browser. We support the latest version of the following browsers: For a better user experience we recommend using the latest version of the following browsers: