Open Mind: Smart parasite detector

News - 12 November 2018 - Webredactie 3ME

TU Delft | Global Initiative-project 'Smart parasite detector for animals' got awarded a NWO Open Mind of 50.000 euro.

African Animal Trypanosomiasis is a parasitic infection, spread mainly by the bite of infected tsetse flies. It is prevalent in 37 sub-Saharan countries and Ethiopia and has become the major constraint of livestock production. It kills approximately 3 million livestock every year, with an approximate loss of 4.5 billion US Dollars yearly. Since no vaccine has yet been developed, there is need for strategic control options which include case detection, treatment, and vector control. But first, diagnosis is needed. Microscopic examination of blood samples is the standard diagnostic method, but it is time-consuming, expensive and not sensitive enough.

PhD researcher Temitope Agbana and Professor Gleb Vdovine from the 3ME faculty have developed a novel technique, which utilizes optical analysis of patient blood samples using automated smart algorithms integrated into a potentially low-cost multispectral optical imaging platform. With this technique, they aim at the development of a portable, field compatible, affordable smart optical diagnostic instrument for early detection of African Animal Trypanosomiasis and other Hemoparasitic infection in animals. A smart parasite detector for animals: automated, rapid reliable diagnosis which requires minimal human intervention.
 
This project is part of TU Delft | Global Initiative
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