Malaria Detection Device To Be Field Tested A Year Ahead Of Schedule

A European Union-funded mHealth project to develop a mobile device using nanotechnology to rapidly detect malaria infection and drug resistance will be ready for field testing in 2013--a year ahead of schedule--according to a university announcement.

Launched in 2012, the Nanomal device is being developed in the United Kingdom by St. George's University of London and Newcastle-based handheld diagnostics and DNA sequencing specialist QuantuMDx Group, using nanotechnologies to rapidly analyze the malarial DNA from a finger prick of blood. The goal is to develop a portable device that allows healthcare workers to rapidly analyze a blood sample and provide a malaria diagnosis and comprehensive screening for drug susceptibility within 15 minutes, but with the same accuracy as a laboratory.