News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel

News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel
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Bloodless Malaria Test Could Signal Major Breakthrough for Early Detection of Diseases Using Light Instead of Traditional Clinical Laboratory Tests

This low-cost, reusable noninvasive light test could serve as a prototype for detecting other biomarkers and diseases in rural and outlying medical laboratories

A 24-year-old Ugandan computer scientist whose own malaria was missed by traditional clinical laboratory blood tests has developed a device that detects signs of the disease using a beam of light directed onto a patient’s finger. The light highlights and detects changes in the color, shape, and concentration of red bloods cells affected by disease.

Brian Gitta, CEO and co-founder of computer software company thinkIT Limited, became the youngest winner of the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. His eHealth solution is called Matibabu, which means “treatment” in Swahili.

Gitta and his team are developing a low-cost, reusable device that clips onto a patient’s finger and provides malaria test results within 60 seconds through a mobile phone app, UPI.com reported. The latest Matibabu prototype uses a ‘hybrid of magnetic-optic technology and electro-impedance technology’ to detect the disease,” according to a blog post on the thinkIT website.

“Our next step is to determine the validity and reliability of the Matibabu device compared with the gold standard microscopy and RDT by conducting field tests with malaria patients in selected health facilities in order to obtain information that will be used to improve the device, and eventually roll it out to the market,” the blog post states.

The Matibabu malaria detection device (above) uses the principles of light scattering and magnetism to detect changes to red blood cells that signal disease. The low-cost, reusable device from thinkIT Limited has advanced through several prototypes and now has an estimated 80% accuracy rate. (Photo copyright: Makerere University College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology.)

TechCrunch reported that the current generation of Matibabu is about 80% accurate, with the expectation that further development will increase the device’s accuracy to 90-95%.

While this new diagnostic technology needs further development and clinical studies, it could potentially be used for other biomarkers and diseases besides malaria. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) like this are not yet widely used, so speed-of-diagnosis also is an issue.

Nevertheless, if successful, such a non-invasive test for malaria would be a major breakthrough since, today, the mosquito-borne disease must be confirmed by medical laboratory blood tests using either microscopic diagnosis or antigen detection, which are costly and time consuming.

“It’s a perfect example of how engineering can unlock development—in this case by improving healthcare,” Rebecca Enonchong, Africa Prize judge, noted in a Royal Academy of Engineering statement. “Matibabu is simply a gamechanger.”

Africa Prize judge Rebecca Enonchong (left) presents Ugandan Brian Gitta (right) of Matibabu with the Africa Prize winner’s medal. (Photo/caption copyright: Royal Academy of Engineering.)

Shafik Sekitto, Matibabu Vice President of Business Development, told BBC World News that Gitta’s own battle with malaria was prolonged because the first three blood tests failed to diagnose his disease. “[Gitta] brought up the idea: ‘Why can’t we find a new way of using the skills we have in computer science—of diagnosing a disease without having to prick somebody?’” Sekitto explained.

Malaria Threatens Half the World’s Population

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that nearly half the world’s population is at risk of malaria. According to WHO estimates, in 2015 there were 429,000 deaths worldwide from malaria, with 90% of cases and 92% of deaths in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Africa Prize, which includes a $33,400 (124-million Uganda shillings) award, is Africa’s biggest prize dedicated to engineering innovation. Its sponsors aim to encourage engineers from sub-Saharan Africa “to apply their skills to develop scalable solutions to local challenges.” In addition to funding, award recipients also receive business training, mentoring, and access to the Royal Academy of Engineering’s network of high profile and experienced engineers and experts, and their networks.

Gitta expects the award of the Africa Prize will help thinkIT Limited better navigate the difficult process of gaining worldwide regulatory approval for a new diagnostic device.

“It’s such a big achievement for us, because it means that we can better manage production in order to scale clinical trials and prove ourselves to regulators,” he predicted in the Royal Academy of Engineering statement. “The recognition will help us open up partnership opportunities—which is what we need most at the moment.”

Many pathologists and clinical laboratory managers are watching the efforts of various companies to develop medical laboratory tests that can be performed with a device that is coupled to a smartphone and can be performed as a point-of-care test. A substantial proportion of these research efforts are targeting the needs for accurate diagnostic testing in developing countries. That’s because of the need for cheap, fast, and accurate assays that can be performed in the rural areas of these nations.

—Andrea Downing Peck

Related Information:

Ugandan Inventor Wins Africa Prize for Bloodless Malaria Test

Ugandan Innovation Wins the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation

Ugandan Wins Africa Prize for Bloodless Malaria Test

Matibabu Uses Light to Diagnose Malaria

Matibabu Wins the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation

 

 

Paper-Strip Medical Laboratory Test Under Development at Ohio State University Promises to Bring Low-Cost Malaria Tests to Resource-Strapped Nations

Clinical laboratory assays based on low-cost paper strip tests could make detecting malaria easier in rural areas of Africa and Southeast Asia

In the field of remote medical pathology, diagnostic tests strips made from paper can provide low-cost, simple-to-perform testing in developing nations. These are regions where such diagnostic test capabilities are desperately needed by medical laboratory scientists and resource-strapped clinical laboratories.

One such example is a new paper strip test that can detect malaria for people in rural areas of Africa and southeast Asia. Such tests could also lower the cost of diagnostic testing in other parts of the world. Research teams have been working on various paper-based tests for at least the last decade. (more…)

Two Different Point-of-Care Test Devices for Malaria Show Why Emerging Technologies Can Be Disruptive to Clinical Pathology Laboratories

Separate research projects at University of Washington and in the United Kingdom are producing handheld diagnostic devices to accurately detect Malaria

Two new handheld, point-of-care test (POC) devices for malaria  could save millions of lives in third-world countries. At the same time, these POC devices may lead to inexpensive alternatives for diagnosing common diseases in developed nations as well.

Clinical laboratory test developers see a big opportunity in developing assays to detect Malaria. That is because an estimated 200 million cases of malaria are diagnosed annually, resulting in the death of about 100 million people each year.

Recently, two organizations released news about the specific testing devices they have developed to detect malaria. One group is at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. The other group is NanoMal, a biotechnology company located in the United Kingdom. (more…)

Singapore University Researchers Unveil Portable $1 Point-of-Care Testing That Speedily Tests for Multiple Diseases

Hand-held tests developed from the work of the NUS BIGHEART team could help caregivers in remote areas diagnose disease quickly, accurately, and inexpensively There is great demand in Asia for diagnostic tests that are cheap, accurate, and have a fast time to answer. Especially in Asia’s remote and mobile clinics where caregivers need immediate access to clinical laboratory test results at the time of patients’ visits. Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have unveiled...

Paper Microfluidic Devices Offer New Potential for Affordable Point-of-Care Tests for Use in Developing Countries That Have Few Clinical Laboratories

Paper-based devices could perform complex, multistep diagnostic tests at a fraction of the cost of traditional medical laboratory analysis

Many research teams are racing to create paper-based devices for medical laboratory tests. Their primary goal is develop a cheap, fast, reliable way to perform diagnostic testing in third world settings, where modern clinical laboratories are few and far between. One development team is working to combine lab-on-a-chip technologies with the low cost of paper-based platforms.

Meanwhile, over the past decade, point-of-care testing (POCT) has revolutionized diagnosis and treatment options for a myriad of conditions. In developing regions or remote areas, low-cost POCT improves accessibility to vital tests for infectious diseases, such as HIV, Malaria, and Ebola, as well as acute medical conditions, such as sepsis.

In the past eight years, Dark Daily has reported many times on the emergence of new POCT devices. From lactic acid screening to the lab-in-a-needle, which is used for detecting liver toxicity, the ability to produce a quick and accurate diagnosis without intensive clinical laboratory testing is growing.

However, one area where many POCT devices face challenges is in surviving extended environmental exposure. This does not pose an issue in major research hospitals or health systems. However, the consequences can be severe when considering the often harsh, resource-limited conditions of developing countries—one area in which POCT stands to offer the greatest value. (more…)

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