Lab in A Suitcase

I was very excited to get to Ghana to see HCJB Global's very first Lab in A Suitcase.  I had read the description of it and see the pictures, but getting to unpack everything and put it together was wonderful and a little terrifying- especially since I have been more of a mom in the last 10 years than a scientist.

I Wish I had taken a picture of everything before I took it out of  the box, but here is a picture of the suitcase and all the equipment before I organized it.  The entire system can work with a solar panel that was included and we are hoping will work for the clinic since electricity is very expensive and not always available.  

Here is the final set up.  You may notice in the window, the blue rectangle is the solar panel.

This is the hand cranked centrifuge that came with the system. It is amazing how long 5 minutes can feel when cranking it with urine samples.  


This system is not meant for clinics, normally, but in this case it was the perfect solution.  The clinic will have several days a month for caravans to the surrounding communities and this will allow them to run basic labs both within the clinic as well as out.  It will be a blessing to see how this ingenious system supports what the doctors are already doing for the people.