TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A Taiwan research team has made a breakthrough with a new method of separating blood plasma for diagnostic tests – making the most of the “fidget spinner.”

A fidget spinner is a multi-lobed toy comprised of a ball bearing in the center, often used to help people relieve stress or nervous energy. Surprisingly, the device has been discovered to serve medical applications in a study conducted by a group of scientists from National Taiwan University, reported UDN.

Blood tests are performed by separating blood cells from plasma, which appears as a kind of yellowish fluid that carries proteins, viruses, bacteria, metabolites and other substances, which can be examined to diagnose diseases.

The method requires centrifugation that employs high-speed rotation to sediment blood cells, but centrifuges can be costly and consume large amounts of electricity, said Chen Chien-fu (陳建甫), a leading member of the research team from NTU Institute of Applied Mechanics.

The team injected a drop of blood in each of the sealed tiny tubes and taped the tubes to the three prongs of a fidget spinner. By flicking the spinner for about 4 to 7 minutes, it appeared that the plasma was successfully separated from the blood cells with 99 percent purity levels, according to the research results.

The inexpensive toy proves a perfect alternative for blood test equipment in regions lacking resources and electricity, therefore contributing significantly to the diagnosis of pandemics including dengue, measles, and enteroviruses, reckoned Deputy Director-General Luo Yi-jun (羅一鈞) of Taiwan Centers for Disease Control.

The research was published in American Chemical Society’s journal Analytical Chemistry.