Mobile phone microscope rapidly detects parasite levels in blood
Device may aid efforts to eradicate neglected tropical diseases
2015-05-06
(Press-News.org) Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the University of California, Berkeley, and colleagues have developed a mobile phone microscope to measure blood levels of the parasitic filarial worm Loa loa. The point-of-care device may enable safe resumption of mass drug administration campaigns to eradicate the parasitic diseases onchocerciasis (river blindness) and lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis).
Efforts to eliminate these diseases in Central Africa through community-wide administration of antiparasitic drugs have been suspended due to potentially fatal drug-associated side effects in people with high blood levels of Loa microfilariae, the filarial worm's larval form. A potential solution is to identify and exclude such people from mass drug administration. However, standard methods for measuring microfilariae are time-consuming and must be performed by trained personnel with laboratory equipment.
To rapidly screen for Loa infections in community settings, the scientists developed CellScope Loa, a video microscope integrating an Apple iPhone 5s. With the help of a custom iPhone app, the device automatically captures and analyzes videos of the characteristic "wriggling" motion of microfilariae, enabling quantification of microfilariae in blood from a finger prick in less than two minutes. No special preparation of the blood is required, limiting potential error and sample loss, and healthcare workers need minimal training to use the automated device.
Screening of blood samples from potentially Loa-infected people under field conditions in Cameroon, Africa, showed that CellScope Loa results correspond well to those obtained by standard methods, correctly identifying people with microfilarial levels over a certain threshold. Although additional work is needed to prepare the technology for broad use, the researchers predict that a team of three workers could screen up to 200 people during the four-hour midday window when Loa circulates at its peak in the blood.
INFORMATION:
ARTICLE:
MV D'Ambrosio, M Bakalar et al. Point-of-care quantification of blood-borne filarial parasites with a mobile phone microscope. Science Translational Medicine DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aaa3480 (2015).
WHO:
Thomas B. Nutman, M.D., deputy chief of NIAID's Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases and a senior author of the paper, is available to discuss the findings.
CONTACT:
To schedule interviews, please contact Hillary Hoffman, (301) 402-1663, hillary.hoffman@nih.gov.
See related video showing a single field of view from the CellScope Loa as displayed on the iPhone screen.
NIAID conducts and supports research--at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide--to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID website.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.
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[Press-News.org] Mobile phone microscope rapidly detects parasite levels in blood
Device may aid efforts to eradicate neglected tropical diseases
