Every patient will incur a cost of only Rs 10 for each test against a drop of blood taken from the tip of his finger.
The remote testing facility will give results within 10-12 seconds and provide a hard copy of the report and the case details are archived for future reference.
The testing system has an accuracy of 90 per cent. The algorithm can also be developed for other diseases, including dengue.
The set-up uses a paper microscope, also known as 'foldscope', which is an optical microscope that can be assembled from simple components, including paper and lens.
When you adjust the camera a little, Foldscope, with the help of a mobile camera, clicks a magnified image (enabled by the microscope) of the blood sample and that image is stored by the camera.
Through internet connection and via an app, the image is transmitted to a server hosted by IIEST. Then, an algorithm developed by the team will process the image and will be able to find out whether malarial parasites are there or not.
Since it links GPS data with the test case, the system generates a real-time disease heat map that gets updated to reflect each case tested by the system, giving an always-up-to-date view of the malaria breakout scenario of an area, providing health care workers with the much-needed early warning before an imminent epidemic.
The detection kit, including the Foldscope, has a manufacturing cost of Rs 80. Foldscope is popularly known as the "$1 Microscope" developed by Manu Prakash and his team at Stanford University. It is pocket-size and can be folded into a microscope origami-style.
All tests performed by the system are automatically logged on the remote central server.
The developers aim to train social workers in remote villages on using the device if it gets the nod for mass production.
Vector-borne diseases are reported between mid-July and November-end. Dengue and chikungunya are caused by aedes agypti mosquito, which breeds in clear water. Anopheles mosquito, which causes malaria, can breed in both fresh and muddy water.
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