LONDON - Nov. 16, 2015 - PRLog -- For the first time it is now possible to use a mobile phone to diagnose malaria. The iPhone app automatically detects the presence of the disease quickly and reliably, and today is made available in the App Store. The accuracy and savings generated by this revolutionary method will then release resources for disease eradication.
The app has been developed over the last 18 months by London based startup, xRapid. The app recognizes the disease from a magnified image of a blood-slide generated from an attached field microscope. xRapid heralds a new direction in disease diagnosis.
Malaria is a global disease. It is a major contributor to poverty and death in developing countries. Malaria has also been a big topic in the news in 2015. A Nobel prize for Tu Youyou, the Chinese researcher who invented the most effective and widely used treatment for malaria, shows increasing recognition of the need to tackle the disease on a global scale.
xRapid is looking to disrupt the current methods of testing. Testing is vitally important in malaria case management as it links the challenges of treatment, drug resistance and vaccine research. Treating malaria patients early and avoiding the over prescription of drugs relies heavily on testing, whilst the efficacy of a vaccine can only be qualified through screening programmes.
Testing for malaria needs to be fast, accurate and cheap. Current methods can either be slow, expensive and time consuming or inaccurate and unstable. xRapid brings together the strengths of current methods while avoiding the flaws; it provides speed, accuracy and accessibility at a lower cost per test than anything else on the market.
The pattern recognition method also has the potential to spot other diseases. xRapid CEO and Co-founder Jean Viry-Babel says they won’t stop at malaria alone:
“This is just the beginning; we are already working on expanding xRapid to test and diagnose other diseases from tuberculosis to Lyme disease. Right now we are very excited to be the first iPhone app to diagnose a major disease like malaria. Half of the global population is at risk, and we are very proud to be doing our part in improving the lives of those affected. The mHealth revolution is starting to help people all over the world and we are thrilled to be part of it.”
Visit www.xrapid.org for more details.
Media Contact
xRapid Ltd
4th Holden House 57 Rathbone Place Lond
+442034881213
jean@xrapid.com
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