Device data
Health topic Tuberculosis
Classification Diagnosis
Scope Clinical trial
Manufacturer
location		 Texas, United States

Tuberculosis is the second largest infectious cause of death in the world. It is highly prevalent in low resource settings because the equipment necessary, fluorescence microscopes, is high cost ($40,000 USD), leading to difficulty in properly diagnosing the infection.

Detailed description of the solution

The Global Focus Microscope analyses sputum smears (saliva and mucus mixture coughed up by a patient) to detect the presence of tuberculosis and malaria. The device is portable (small size and weight), is battery operated, has up to 1000x magnification, and is a low cost option ($240 USD to manufacture).

Designed by

When and where it was tested/implemented

Tested in Tehran, Iran in 2010.

Funding Source

Rice University received a $2.2 million grant from Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2006)

References

Peer-reviewed publication

Andrew R. Miller, Gregory L. Davis, Z. Maria Oden, Mohamad Reza Razavi, Abolfazi Fateh, Morteza Ghazanfari, Farid Abdolrahimi, Shahin Poorazar, Fatemeh Sakhaie, Randall J. Olsen, Ahmad Reza Bahrmand, Mark C. Pierce, Edward A. Graviss, Rebecca Richards-Kortum. (2010) Portable, Battery-Operated, Low-Cost, Bright Field and Fluorescence Microscope. Retrieved July 3, 2014 from

Other internally generated reports

Rice University. (2011). Global Focus Microscope. Retrieved July 3, 2014 from

3rd Stone Design Inc. Global Focus Microscope. Retrieved July 3, 2014 from

Externally generated reports

Ben Coxworth. (2010). US $240 TB-detecting microscope on par with $40,000 devices. Retrieved July 3, 2014 from

Priya Sabu. (2011). Cutting the price tag for microscopy diagnostics. Retrieved July 3, 2014 from

Dr. Margaret Chan. (2010) Despite progress TB is the second biggest infectious killer of adults. Retrieved July 2, 2014 from

Approval by regulatory bodies or standards boards

Page data
SDG SDG03 Good health and well-being, SDG09 Industry innovation and infrastructure
Authors Lonny Grafman, Chris Waterguy, Emilio, Kathleen Sienko, Amir Sabet Sarvestani
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Organizations Appropedia Foundation, University of Michigan
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 1 pages link here
Redirects Global Focus Microscope
Views 192 page views (analytics)
Created August 8, 2014 by Gfantich
Last edit September 10, 2026 by Felipe Schenone
Cite as Gfantich (2014–2026). "Global Health Medical Device Compendium/Global Focus Microscope". Appropedia. Retrieved September 30, 2026.
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