A new fast and portable point-of-care diagnostic for urinary tract infections (UTIs) makes use of the fidget spinner, a rapidly rotating toy claimed to provide an antidote for anxiety and hyperactivity. The rotational action of the device results in rapid concentration of pathogens contained within a small urine sample, enabling quick identification of infectious bacteria.

The custom-designed device exploits centrifugal forces and fluid assisted separation technology to process a sample volume as small as 1 ml. Activated by one or two spins by hand, the platform produces 100 times more enriched pathogens that can be easily seen by the naked eye without a bacteria culture. The system The fidget spinner toy (left) inspired the design of the diagnostic-fidget spinner (right). Source: Institute for Basic Sciencedesigned by researchers from the Institute for Basic Science (South Korea), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (South Korea), Kauvery Hospital Pvt. Ltd. (India) and Seoul National University (South Korea) could be used in low-resource settings as an inexpensive handheld point-of-care device for the rapid concentration and detection of pathogens in urine samples.

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Tests were conducted with samples from 39 patients suspected of having UTIs. Results were returned in under an hour and showed that 59% of the participants were over- or under-treated with antibiotics, a situation that can be avoided by using the spinner. Additional tests provided a preliminary indication of the presence of antibiotic resistance. By testing the spun samples treated with different drugs and comparing them to untreated samples, the researchers were able to quickly select appropriate antibiotics.