---
title: "A Fidget Spinner-Inspired Test Can Diagnose UTIs in Under an Hour"
description: "A new medical device that looks and spins like a fidget spinner can test for and diagnose a urinary tract infection in under an hour."
date: "2020-05-18"
modified: "2020-05-18"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/fidget-spinner-test-diagnose-uti-under-hour"
categories:
  - "Health & Medicine"
  - "Medical"
tags:
  - "medical device"
  - "medicine"
  - "urinary tract infection"
---

# A Fidget Spinner-Inspired Test Can Diagnose UTIs in Under an Hour

![A new medical device that looks and spins like a fidget spinner can test for and diagnose a urinary tract infection in under an hour.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/fidget-spinner-test-diagnose-uti-under-hour.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Thor Deichmann via Pixabay/Futurism\</em\>*

A new medical device can diagnose urinary tract infections (UTIs) at home in less than an hour. And, in an unusual twist, the device looks and performs almost exactly like a fidget spinner — if a fidget spinner was full of human urine.

It may sound unusual, but rapidly spinning samples is commonplace in biomedical research. In this case, *[New Scientist ](<https://www.newscientist.com/article/2243675-fidget-spinner-device-can-diagnose-utis-in-under-an-hour-without-a-lab/>)*[reports](<https://www.newscientist.com/article/2243675-fidget-spinner-device-can-diagnose-utis-in-under-an-hour-without-a-lab/>) that rapidly spinning a urine sample in the device will force the urine — but not any UTI-causing bacteria — through a thin membrane.

If bacteria is present, it will interact with dye on the membrane to offer a diagnosis after just two spins and 45 minutes — much faster than traditional tests that can take days.

"It is easy to operate," Yoon-Kyoung Cho, a biomedical engineer at South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology who worked on the device, told *New Scientist*.

The team of researchers found that in many cases, patients who went to a doctor for a UTI test [were prescribed antibiotics](<https://futurism.com/scientists-may-have-found-a-way-to-treat-urinary-tract-infections-without-antibiotics>) while they were waiting for their results, even if those antibiotics wouldn't help with a UTI. Those [wasteful prescriptions](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/antibiotic-prescriptions-unnecessary>), Cho told *New Scientist*, could increase bacteria's ability to resist and survive antibiotic treatments over time.

The device — once a patient gets taught how to use it — doesn't require a visit to the doctor or even an electric current to offer a diagnosis. Therefore, the team wrote in research [published Monday](<https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-020-0557-2.epdf?sharing_token=pKq8w-JwlDxtMJr-eiS-BdRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0MlPmwnuBLOSDUc0X6yxk6fU6J61jWeZS3GHQYpaQJdcZ1bA7bLUZDeDFZ4oKF1gs9_dI4k22dOpIofnfMTzIVW7A1QKvPYiH3JfU6uPMAjWyyZqVRZLItn-bWNc68ZVJ4VN9o97Xi1uSYEENQA_45v-D3BnK-OZoGD0PFBOcYmN31TyWeGQM6fTWls8CYaRvF7hZJy_MkZQAQb6QIky6xxGN4u0oDl_5WuPzo7SXIa3DqvIZg8ZR_4rt0jlAdy6SK4f-uXLuQmNaxhcF_6YfA_8awNgi9R5ZmZEkI3NzFGJA%3D%3D&tracking_referrer=www.newscientist.com>) in the journal *Nature Biomedical Engineering*, it could help improve access to medical care in developing nations or underserved areas.

"The fidget spinner could be used in low-resource settings as an inexpensive handheld point-of-care device," reads the research paper, "for the rapid concentration and detection of pathogens in urine samples."

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)