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Credit: Peter H. Seeberger
Researchers have used military technology to develop a test for detecting malaria parasites in the blood.
The team used a detector known as a focal plane array (FPA), which was originally developed for heat-seeking missiles.
The FPA gives highly detailed information on a sample area in minutes. The heat-seeking detector, which is coupled to an infrared imaging microscope, could detect the malaria parasite in a single red blood cell.
The infrared signature from the fatty acids of the parasites allowed the researchers to detect the parasite at its earliest stages and determine the number of parasites in a blood smear.
The team described the technology in Analyst.
“Our test detects malaria at its very early stages, so that doctors can stop the disease in its tracks before it takes hold and kills,” said study author Bayden Wood, PhD, of Monash University in Victoria, Australia. “We believe this sets the gold standard for malaria testing.”
“There are some excellent tests that diagnose malaria. However, the sensitivity is limited, and the best methods require hours of input from skilled microscopists, and that’s a problem in developing countries where malaria is most prevalent.”
The new test, on the other hand, gives an automatic diagnosis within 4 minutes and doesn’t require a specialist technician.
Study author Leann Tilley, PhD, of the University of Melbourne in Australia, said the test could make an impact in large-scale screening of malaria parasite carriers who do not present with the classic fever-type symptoms associated with the disease.
“In many countries, only people who display signs of malaria are treated,” Dr Tilley said. “But the problem with this approach is that some people don’t have typical flu-like symptoms associated with malaria, and this means a reservoir of parasites persists that can reemerge and spread very quickly within a community.”
“Our test works because it can detect the malaria parasite at the very early stages and can reliably detect it in an automated manner in a single red blood cell. No other test can do that.”
FPA detectors were originally developed for Javelin Portable anti-tank missiles in the 1990s. The heat-seeking detector is used on shoulder-fired missiles but can also be installed on tracked, wheeled, or amphibious vehicles, providing spatial and spectral information in a matter of seconds.
The FPA detector used in this project was coupled to a synchrotron source located at the InfraRed Environmental Imaging facility at the Synchrotron Radiation Center in Wisconsin.
For the next phase of this research, Dr Wood’s team is collaborating with Patcharee Jearanaikoon, PhD, of Kohn Kaen University in Thailand, to test the technology in clinics. 
Credit: Peter H. Seeberger
Researchers have used military technology to develop a test for detecting malaria parasites in the blood.
The team used a detector known as a focal plane array (FPA), which was originally developed for heat-seeking missiles.
The FPA gives highly detailed information on a sample area in minutes. The heat-seeking detector, which is coupled to an infrared imaging microscope, could detect the malaria parasite in a single red blood cell.
The infrared signature from the fatty acids of the parasites allowed the researchers to detect the parasite at its earliest stages and determine the number of parasites in a blood smear.
The team described the technology in Analyst.
“Our test detects malaria at its very early stages, so that doctors can stop the disease in its tracks before it takes hold and kills,” said study author Bayden Wood, PhD, of Monash University in Victoria, Australia. “We believe this sets the gold standard for malaria testing.”
“There are some excellent tests that diagnose malaria. However, the sensitivity is limited, and the best methods require hours of input from skilled microscopists, and that’s a problem in developing countries where malaria is most prevalent.”
The new test, on the other hand, gives an automatic diagnosis within 4 minutes and doesn’t require a specialist technician.
Study author Leann Tilley, PhD, of the University of Melbourne in Australia, said the test could make an impact in large-scale screening of malaria parasite carriers who do not present with the classic fever-type symptoms associated with the disease.
“In many countries, only people who display signs of malaria are treated,” Dr Tilley said. “But the problem with this approach is that some people don’t have typical flu-like symptoms associated with malaria, and this means a reservoir of parasites persists that can reemerge and spread very quickly within a community.”
“Our test works because it can detect the malaria parasite at the very early stages and can reliably detect it in an automated manner in a single red blood cell. No other test can do that.”
FPA detectors were originally developed for Javelin Portable anti-tank missiles in the 1990s. The heat-seeking detector is used on shoulder-fired missiles but can also be installed on tracked, wheeled, or amphibious vehicles, providing spatial and spectral information in a matter of seconds.
The FPA detector used in this project was coupled to a synchrotron source located at the InfraRed Environmental Imaging facility at the Synchrotron Radiation Center in Wisconsin.
For the next phase of this research, Dr Wood’s team is collaborating with Patcharee Jearanaikoon, PhD, of Kohn Kaen University in Thailand, to test the technology in clinics.
Credit: Peter H. Seeberger
Researchers have used military technology to develop a test for detecting malaria parasites in the blood.
The team used a detector known as a focal plane array (FPA), which was originally developed for heat-seeking missiles.
The FPA gives highly detailed information on a sample area in minutes. The heat-seeking detector, which is coupled to an infrared imaging microscope, could detect the malaria parasite in a single red blood cell.
The infrared signature from the fatty acids of the parasites allowed the researchers to detect the parasite at its earliest stages and determine the number of parasites in a blood smear.
The team described the technology in Analyst.
“Our test detects malaria at its very early stages, so that doctors can stop the disease in its tracks before it takes hold and kills,” said study author Bayden Wood, PhD, of Monash University in Victoria, Australia. “We believe this sets the gold standard for malaria testing.”
“There are some excellent tests that diagnose malaria. However, the sensitivity is limited, and the best methods require hours of input from skilled microscopists, and that’s a problem in developing countries where malaria is most prevalent.”
The new test, on the other hand, gives an automatic diagnosis within 4 minutes and doesn’t require a specialist technician.
Study author Leann Tilley, PhD, of the University of Melbourne in Australia, said the test could make an impact in large-scale screening of malaria parasite carriers who do not present with the classic fever-type symptoms associated with the disease.
“In many countries, only people who display signs of malaria are treated,” Dr Tilley said. “But the problem with this approach is that some people don’t have typical flu-like symptoms associated with malaria, and this means a reservoir of parasites persists that can reemerge and spread very quickly within a community.”
“Our test works because it can detect the malaria parasite at the very early stages and can reliably detect it in an automated manner in a single red blood cell. No other test can do that.”
FPA detectors were originally developed for Javelin Portable anti-tank missiles in the 1990s. The heat-seeking detector is used on shoulder-fired missiles but can also be installed on tracked, wheeled, or amphibious vehicles, providing spatial and spectral information in a matter of seconds.
The FPA detector used in this project was coupled to a synchrotron source located at the InfraRed Environmental Imaging facility at the Synchrotron Radiation Center in Wisconsin.
For the next phase of this research, Dr Wood’s team is collaborating with Patcharee Jearanaikoon, PhD, of Kohn Kaen University in Thailand, to test the technology in clinics.