Fast and easy malaria diagnosis

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about half of the world's population, numbering in billions, is at risk of contracting malaria. Despite being preventable and treatable, malaria killed approximately 482 000 children under the age of 5 years in 2012, almost 1 child every minute.

With EU funding, the project 'Development of a handheld antimalarial drug resistance diagnostic device using nanowire technology' (NANOMAL) is creating a simple-to-use, affordable tool to analyse mutations in malarial DNA with proven nanotechnologies. Treatment can then be based on the specific malaria parasite while assessing the real-time risk of drug resistance emergence and the impact of antimalarial interventions.

The low-cost device capable of delivering a diagnosis in less than 20 minutes of sampling from a finger prick of blood is being integrated with cell phone technology. The system will support remote consultations, transfer of data to central processing centres for global tracking and appropriate treatment for improved outcomes.

NANOMAL's device works by extracting and amplifying DNA from the sample and binding it to probes immobilised on the surface of nanowire sensors. This assay can detect all five species of human malaria, including the most dangerous, most common and newest. Furthermore, the assay can also detect more than 10 mutations associated with drug resistance in the most dangerous species.

All components have been integrated into the handheld device and disposable malaria assay cartridge that are now ready for testing. The device will be evaluated in comprehensive testing using parasite DNA samples, laboratory testing with clinical samples and, finally, near-patient testing. The consortium has developed a roadmap for commercialisation, including links with external advisors to establish regulatory and quality control measures.

Malaria, often seen in the poorest tropical and subtropical areas of the world, can go undetected and untreated due to limited availability of health care facilities. The tremendous potential of the NANOMAL device has already been recognised as the number one innovation in malaria elimination by The Guardian's Global Development Professionals Network. By project end, this robust, field-tested tool should be ready for commercialisation. It will bring appropriate diagnosis and life-saving intervention for malaria to underserved regions of the globe.