Malaria detection device in just 5 seconds

John Lewandowski, 26, a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), has developed a device to quickly diagnose malaria, increasing patient survival.

Page CNN Money reported that John's malaria detection device named RAM (Rapid Assessment of Malaria) . RAM can detect malaria in just 5 seconds with a drop of blood. RAM is battery operated, costing about 100-120 USD because it is made with cheap, popular materials.

John Lewandowski invented RAM.(Photo: CNN).

John Lewandowski, who is working on a doctoral thesis in mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said that there are usually two main ways to detect malaria. One is to check blood droplets under a microscope to detect parasites. Two are diagnosed on positive or positive results through blood tests.

Places with a slow economy like Africa and some Asian countries do not have enough medical equipment and infrastructure to carry out tests to detect malaria, especially early diagnosis. . Because of the late detection of disease, the survival of malaria patients is very low."Early detection of malaria is very important, especially in the first 5 to 7 days before symptoms appear outside," said John Lewandowski.

RAM device.(Photo: CNN).

The device is a plastic box (about 10x10cm) with a small circuit board, several magnets and a laser inside. Outside is an LCD screen, an SD card slot and a disposable plastic cuvette. Lewandowski says the malaria parasite in human blood produces iron crystals. The person who needs the test only needs to prick the blood into the cuvette. If positive for malaria, the magnets will attract iron crystals horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Laser beams help identify patterns and diagnose diseases. If the blood is negative for malaria, no crystals will form.

Currently RAM has been brought to India for experiment on 250 malaria patients. Accurate results up to 97%. Here, Nigeria is the next place to check the accuracy of RAM with more than 5,000 patients.

Malaria affects 200 million people every year, is one of the most dangerous diseases in the world. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 438,000 people have died from this dangerous disease only in 2015, mainly in Africa.