Low-cost field detection system can detect malaria infection within minutes with just a drop of blood
(Left) SMART developed the low-cost benchtop Magnetic Resonance Relaxometry system for rapid label-free malaria screening. (Right) Only a drop of blood is blood required for testing.
A team of Singapore scientists have invented a new technique to detect malaria within minutes and all that is required is a drop of blood. [See AsiaOne's story - 'Singapore's team device can detect malaria faster'.]
Malaria is a mosquito-borne parasite which affects over 60 million people worldwide and could be fatal in serious cases. It is still a huge problem in developing countries because there is no vaccine for malaria while antimalarial drugs are losing their efficacy with increasing drug resistance on the rise.
The research entitled ‘Micromagnetic Resonance Relaxometry for rapid label-free malaria diagnosis’ was published online on 31 Aug 2014 in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Medicine. This innovative technique is developed by the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) [新加坡-麻省理工学院科研中心] in collaboration with Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
With this disruptive new technology, hospitals may soon have the ability to rapidly screen and monitor hundreds of patients at the point-of-care for malaria, at much lower cost per patient. See News Release for more.