A new noninvasive test could detect malaria without blood sample

The researchers at the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) and CytoAstra, LLC are developing a novel platform technology known as a cytophone that detects malaria infection in blood cells using ultrasound and lasers. This provides a new noninvasive test for malaria that doesn't require a blood sample.

Researchers developing the platform believe it could provide more sensitive and reliable testing results compared to the more traditional blood tests for malaria, which require a blood sample and tend to detect malaria only at higher parasite burdens, hindering effective detection and treatment.

For malaria, the cytophone technology uses lasers at specific wavelengths focused on superficial blood vessels. When the parasites that cause malaria infection enter red blood cells, they use the hemoglobin inside those cells to liberate amino acids. A byproduct of this process is the release of hemozoin, a compound containing iron. When hit by a laser, hemozoin absorbs more of the laser’s energy than hemoglobin, meaning cells infected with malaria parasites absorb more than noninfected cells.

The Zharov team then developed a portable version of the device and the researchers jointly completed a human proof-of-concept study in malaria-infected adults in Cameroon with Professor Yap Boum, currently executive director of the Pasteur Institute of Bangui, and a long-standing collaborator of the Parikh lab. The results were promising and are under review for journal publication, Parikh said.

Because the cytophone technology can potentially scan a much larger volume of blood, it should be far more sensitive than current tests, Parikh said. The technology also could address an emerging problem with some antigen tests, he added.

Reference: Jawad, H.J., Yadem, A.C., Menyaev, Y.A. et al. Towards rainbow portable Cytophone with laser diodes for global disease diagnostics. Sci Rep 12, 8671 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-11452-w