[June 17, 2010]
With permission from the Matron, we took BTB’s hand-held centrifuge device, developed by Lila Kerr and Lauren Theis, to the Antenatal ward this morning. We met with Gift, the worker who takes blood samples from pregnant women and tests for HIV, anemia, and syphilis (although they are currently out of the syphilis reagent and cannot conduct that test at the moment). After explaining how our device worked, Gift appeared very excited to try out the technology. We took this as a great sign, and immediately got to work.
He called in patients one at a time, and we decided to start easy – with 5 samples for the first run, then 10, and then 15. Knowing that Sally is accurate to 10%, we cautioned Gift that the device was not to be used for diagnostic purposes, and simply to get feedback. Nevertheless, as we started to fill the combs, pump the spinner, and make the readings, I could see the anticipation grow and the desire to give patient recommendation for the device.
A few notes on the centrifuge: I think a better numbering system could be put in place. Aside from the fact that the Sharpie-marked numbers 1-5 were easily rubbed off when cleaning the spinner after use with alcohol, as we began to fill the combs with more and more samples, we had to mentally keep track of which capillary tube belonged to which patient. We decided to give subclassifications A,B,C, etc. to the multiple samples in the 1st comb, then 2nd comb, and so on, but it would be nice if such a system were already (permanently) marked. Another suggestion was to change the color of the bottom plate. Red looks nice, but makes it difficult to see any potential blood spills and splatters during the cleanup process.
Tomorrow will be another visit to the Pediatric ward to test out Sally. As for now, I’m happy with the feedback from this first trial and am excited that we’ve already gained some ground on our projects.