"A smartphone has been used to automatically detect wriggling parasites in blood samples. It is hoped the customised device could help in programmes to get rid of parasites in parts of Africa.
In certain regions of Africa, two parasitic diseases – river blindness and elephantiasis – are a major health problem affecting millions. Both of these diseases can be treated with a drug called ivermectin.
But if you give somebody ivermectin and they also have high numbers of a less harmful parasite called Loa loa (African eye worm) inside their body, it can trigger potentially deadly side effects.
This has hampered large-scale ivermectin treatment programmes aimed at eradicating river blindness and elephantiasis in some areas, as people need to have time-consuming tests for Loa loa levels before they can be treated.
The new device – a standard iPhone hooked up to a specially designed lens module – allows people with minimal training to quickly measure Loa loa levels in a sample of blood.
This study found the device performed similarly to standard, more time-consuming, laboratory tests performed by trained technicians.
But this was a small pilot study in just 33 people, and larger studies are needed to confirm the technique's accuracy.
The development of a technique that could be carried out quickly in the field without much specialised equipment could be an important step forward in treating these parasitic diseases.
The researchers speculate the device could also be used to detect other moving disease-causing parasites in the blood.
Where did the story come from?
The study was carried out by researchers from the University of California, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the US, the Centre for Research on Filariasis and other Tropical Diseases, and the University of Yaoundé, Cameroon and the University of Montpellier, France.
It was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the University of California, the US Agency for International Development, the Purnendu Chatterjee Chair Fund, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Some of the researchers hold patents or have applied for patents relating to this new approach, and two hold shares in the company that developed the device.
Posted by www.anymobilesmartphone.co.uk
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