Faster, more accurate diagnosis & reporting of malaria in 1 minute with a $1 test
Problem
In the absence of an accurate, rapid diagnostic test for malaria, there are many avoidable deaths due to delayed diagnosis, specially in remote areas. Between to 2-4% of malaria cases can be missed due to genetic mutations, leading to false negatives and potentially fatal consequences for patients.
Solution
A one-minute, bivalent, accurate rapid diagnostic test for malaria, that works on a simpler principle of detecting Hemozoin, a metabolic by-product formed due to malaria infections. The hand held device tests for both Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) and Plasmodium vivax (Pv) using a single blood sample at the patients’ doorstep, with test results available in 1 minute. The targeted cost per test is $2, which is half of currently available tests. The device enables automated data capture and transmission of case & patient details to the malaria surveillance system ensuring case details are reported in real time. Gazelle is a platform which also supports a test for the diagnosis of sickle cell disease. Tests for other infectious diseases using this platform are under development.
IMPACT
While Gazelle for malaria detection is under development, it is already being used in resource-limited settings for rapid detection of Sickle Cell Disease across 27 countries worldwide including in India
“IHF has helped us continue the momentum and development of our malaria technology. They connected us with many of the top leaders/advisors in malaria in India. This group provided feedback on how to improve our project. IHF has been a real partner alongside us to work to achieve the project goal. The last 2 years were beyond anything we could have expected. We had to stop collecting data, delay the project and were unable to come to India directly. But IHF stayed with us, kept focused on the goal and that made a big difference.”
