Kolakata, October 20: Now detecting common mosquito-borne disease malaria can be matter of just a few seconds and Rs 10 only. A team of researchers from the Institute of Engineering and Management in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, claimed to have developed a mobile, low-cost malaria detection system. Also Read - Surge in HIV, TB, Malaria Deaths Due to COVID-19

“We have attached a mobile phone camera on a paper microscope which can be used to take image of blood sample on a slide with some chemicals, and the data can be processed at a central server to detect the presence of malaria cell,” IIEST, Shibpur Head of Department, IT, Dr Arindam Biswas said. Also Read - Scientists Find New Way to Better Diagnose Malaria Infection in India

The paper microscope, also known as ‘foldscope’ is an optical microscope that can be assembled from simple components, including paper and lens. The results can be accessed by the doctor registered in system’s database and prescribe treatment accordingly, he said. Also Read - Hydroxychloroquine May Have Side Effects Like Nausea, Abdomen Pain, ICMR Will Study

All tests performed by the system are automatically logged on the remote central server. “Every patient will incur a cost of only Rs 10 for each test against a drop of blood taken from the tip of his finger, and the remote testing facility will give results within seconds and provide a hard copy of the report,” he said.

IIEST PhD student and IEM Professor Nilanjana Dutta Roy and two other research scholars at the institute – Nilanjan Daw and Debapriya Paul — contributed in this project.

The malaria detection, monitoring and mitigation framework devised by the team has been patented, Biswas said.

The framework includes fitting the image capturing camera, the necessary magnification, the algorithm developed to process the image and find out whether malarial parasites are present, Dutta Roy said.

The system is called ‘Centaur’ in short.

The detection kit, including the foldable papermade microscope, incurs a manufacturing cost of Rs 80. “The entire process will not cost much considering the conventional microscope is high priced. And we have registered 90 per cent accuracy in test cases,” Biswas, who was part of the project as an academician and not on behalf of IIEST, said.

With inputs from PTI