John
Lewandowski, a PhD student in mechanical engineering at MIT has developed a
mechanical device that can diagnose malaria in five seconds , said diagnosing it quickly is critical.
"Early
detection is very important, typically in the first five to seven days before
symptoms arise, so that treatment can begin," said Lewandowski, 26.
He's
designed a mechanical device called RAM (Rapid Assessment of Malaria) that is
able to detect malaria in five seconds from a drop of blood.
There are
two primary ways to diagnose malaria: You can test a drop of blood under a
microscope to
identify the parasite, or you can do a diagnostic test on a blood
drop sample, which returns a positive or negative result, similar to a home
pregnancy test.
But many
rural communities in Africa and Asia don't have the medical infrastructure for
microscopic tests, and the diagnostic test can't detect malaria infection in
the very early stages.
The RAM device.
Lewandowski
developed his device to make diagnosing malaria quicker and cheaper.
The RAM
is battery-operated, costs about $100 to $120, and is made from low-cost
materials. The plastic box (measuring 4x4 inches) has a small circuit board, a
few magnets and a laser on the inside. On the outside is an LCD screen, an SD
card slot and a plastic disposable cuvette.
"It's
pretty bare bones," said Lewandowski, who's the founder and CEO of
Boston-based Disease Diagnostic Group, which is developing the device.
Malaria
parasites in human blood create iron crystals that are magnetic in nature.
"As
an engineer, I thought about creating a way to detect these magnetic crystals
quickly," said Lewandowski.
Procedures on how to use the device.
You take
a finger prick of blood and insert it into the box through the cuvette. If the
malaria parasite is present, the magnets draw the iron crystals horizontally,
vertically or diagonally. The laser helps identify the pattern and diagnose the
disease. (If the disease isn't present, no crystals form.)
The
technology is deliberately simplistic and easy to use, although diagnosing the
parasite and determining treatment needs to be done by a local clinic or
hospital.
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