Malaria has a new enemy - the smartphone

The article, “Malaria has a new enemy – The smartphone”, is a text about how the developers have invented and built up the software. It is also about the practical uses of this product, and places where it is the most needed, as well as how this smartphone app will increase the percent of accuracy of who is actually infected.

The app is developed by a company called Lifelens. They had a team of researchers that has developed an application which turns a smartphone into a malaria busting marvel. The software is designed to be used on the Windows 7 phone OS. The pictures are analyzed with an algorithm written in .NET and diagnosis is conducted using proprietary computer vision algorithms, written in C#, which can detect the present of a malaria parasite within the patient’s blood.

The hopeful goal of this product is to exchange it with the old method of finding malaria, which is a very inaccurate way that consists of cotton with a reactive agent that is supposed to change color when exposed to infected blood, called RDT test. Studies have shown that this method is highly unreliable giving false-positive results of around 60%. This means that this smartphone app, that is made to be so easy that anyone with experience with a phone could do the test, has a good chance of doing exactly what the Lifelens company want, to make every medicine count.

The reason we write; to make every medicine count, is because of the misusage of the medicine for malaria. Since the inaccuracy of the RDT test is so huge, the medicine is “wasted” to people who actually do not need it. That means that the promising accuracy of the smartphone app will increase the chances that the ones that really needs medicine, gets it.

Our personal opinions of the product are that if this really works, it can change the world. The world, mainly Africa where malaria is located primarily, can be affected in both good and bad ways. The facts are that the malaria kills 781 000 people every year, which means if this number decreases, the worlds’ population will rise a lot faster. And that is of course another issue, but worth considering. Although this is a factor, we do wish the best for everyone, and if this app can provide a healthier environment, we are all for it.

Have a nice day! :)

John Ejnar and Ragnhild