Matibabu: tests malaria with red light beam

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PEP Forum Uganda

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Matibabu: tests malaria with red light beam

PEP Forum Uganda

1 minute 46 seconds

6 years ago

Matibabu: tests malaria with red light beam

An instrument that tests for malaria without taking a blood test - and gives test results in two minutes? Does it sound possible?

Well, we've all been seriously ill with malaria and know how malaria can put your life on hold. Malaria is still the largest "killer" in Uganda for children and pregnant women who are the most vulnerable for malaria Parasites. In Uganda, malaria takes on average 200 lives each day, and most are small children. Worldwide, about 200 million people are infected each year, and the death toll is around 400,000 a year.

More than 90 percent of those infected live in sub-Saharan Africa.

How beneficial will Matibabu be for testing malaria with a ray of red light in Africa's rural areas? How big is the margin of error and can the invention make a difference? Matibabu is an app developed by ThinkIT, Kampala and has secured the prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering Africa award for the app that is able to diagnose malaria without a blood test: the app instead uses a mobile camera that can tell if a person has malaria by measuring light absorption when pressed at the fingertip.

Matibabu is a groundbreaking invention and the perfect example of how engineering is the key to technology and health development: Matibabu uses a red light beam to measure the color, shape and concentration of red blood cells affected by malaria parasites. The instrument connects to a laptop or smartphone via an app that can be used by anyone. Compared to today's blood sampling, which takes about 30 minutes - and then the samples must be sent to a laboratory for analysis - tests indicate that Matibabu bring positive effects on malaria with 80 percent in two minutes.

This is about money raised and the global effort against malaria being funded by international aid and prevented around 6.2 million deaths since 2001, according to the UN. But still the malaria parasite poses a deadly threat and the question is whether an app like Matibabu can help reduce the number of deaths: the app is a project but is there a potential to revolutionize the diagnosis of malaria ? The number of poor in rural areas is most represented among malaria cases, so is there enough money at all levels for this app? It's a medical product where each unit costs over a thousand US dollars to produce, so it's still a long way to go when the goal is to bring down the price of finished product to around US dollar - and that's the limit for what hospitals and clinics can pay.