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Medical research Smartphone with microscope detects blood parasites
Smartphones could also be used in the medical sector in the future. US researchers developed a rapid test to study blood samples for parasites. For this, the smartphone is equipped with a lens and a special app. Especially developing countries could benefit from the new technology, the researchers write in the journal "Science Translational Medicine".
Smartphone with microscope as a complete diagnostic tool
While every citizen in Germany has access to medical care, people in developing countries are often left on their own when they are ill. Long distances to the nearest clinic, a few modern medical devices and medicines as well as partially insufficiently trained nurses often prevent patients from receiving the necessary treatment. To make matters worse, there are hardly any clean drinking water and sanitary facilities available in many regions, which increases the risk of infection and favors the spread of parasites. That's why researchers worldwide are working to develop simpler and less expensive diagnostic and treatment methods that can be used in developing countries. There are now rapid malaria tests and a mini-lab for HIV and syphilis plug-in tests for smartphones. Thanks to the mobile technology, the examinations can be carried out practically everywhere.
Researchers led by Daniel Fletcher of the University of California, Berkeley, have now succeeded in developing a medical microscope that uses the camera of a smartphone. "We have already shown that mobile phones can be used for microscopy, but this is the first device that combines imaging technology with hardware and software automation to provide a complete diagnostic solution," Fletcher cites in a statement from the university.
Smartphone detects blood parasites within minutes
The technology works with a special app. This can reliably diagnose the blood parasite Loa loa within a few minutes. The nematode, also known as eye worm, is widespread in the tropical regions of Africa and causes bumps under the skin. Sometimes he wanders to the eye. Although the infection is uncomfortable and painful, but it is with drugs and possibly surgery to get a good handle. However, patients who are infected by the threadworm still have a major disadvantage. They can not be treated for the so-called river blindness, a much more dangerous disease, since the common drug with the active ingredient Ivermectin in Loa loa infestation has fatal side effects. It is therefore essential to clarify whether a patient suffering from river blindness is also affected by the worm. River blindness is caused by another, much more aggressive nematode worm (Onchocerca volvulus), which also causes the so-called elephantiasis, a painful extreme swelling of the limbs.
Smartphone could replace expensive laboratory tests
Usually, doctors have to do a blood test to see if they have been infected with Loa loa. The doctors examine the blood under the microscope and count the larvae of the worm, which swim in the blood. Since this method is complex, lengthy and error-prone and also requires a properly equipped laboratory, the new smartphone microscope could mean a significant step forward here.
The new method is called "CellScope Loa". The worm larvae are identified by the app based on their typical movements. One drop of patient's blood is enough. For this, the blood sample does not need to be processed. The doctor can easily control the analysis process via the touch screen of the smartphone.
"This research is designed for little-noticed tropical diseases," explains Fletcher. "It shows what technology can do for the population suffering from horrible but treatable diseases."
In Cameroon, the smartphone microscope has already been tested. In action against river blindness it proved to be very accurate and in no way worse than the existing techniques.
"Having a pre-drug trial on-the-spot is a major step forward in controlling such devastating diseases," said Vincent Resh of the University of California, who has been fighting parasites in West Africa for 15 years. "The smartphone-based app is ingenious, practical and extremely necessary." In a follow-up study, about 40,000 people in Cameroon should benefit from the smartphone microscope. (Ag)
: Ute Mulder