AsianScientist (Nov. 23, 2017) – Chinese microscope manufacturer Motic China Group Co. Ltd. has developed an artificial intelligence-assisted microscope, called the EasyScan GO, to assist clinicians in identifying malaria parasites in blood smears.
Every year, malaria kills almost half a million people, and researchers estimate nearly half the world’s population is at risk of contracting it. The rapid spread of a multidrug-resistant strain in parts of Southeast Asia is a particularly alarming development detailed by researchers in a letter published recently in The Lancet.
Accurate detection of severe and drug-resistant cases requires analysis of a blood smear by a World Health Organization-certified expert microscopist, which takes roughly 20 minutes per slide. Automating the process with an intelligent microscope can alleviate the shortfall of trained personnel in under-resourced countries.
“Malaria is one of the hardest diseases to identify on a microscope slide,” said Dr. David Bell, Director of Global Health Technologies supporting Global Good. “By putting machine learning-enabled microscopes in the hands of laboratory technicians, we can overcome two major barriers to combating the mutating parasite—improving diagnosis in case management and standardizing detection across geographies and time.”
The EasyScan GO uses custom image recognition software to identify and count malaria parasites in a blood smear in as little as 20 minutes. It will be distributed under a partnership with the Global Good Fund, a collaboration between Intellectual Ventures and Bill Gates, aimed at developing technologies for humanitarian impact.
“Our goal in integrating Global Good’s advanced software into Motic’s high-quality, affordable digital slide scanner is to simplify and standardize malaria detection,” said Mr. Richard Yeung, Vice President of Motic China. “Success with the most difficult-to-identify disease paves the way for the EasyScan product line to excel at almost any microscopy task and to detect other major diseases that affect developed and emerging markets alike.”
EasyScan GO is currently being trained to recognize all species of malaria. The team is further exploring its ability to detect other parasites and traits commonly found on a blood film, including Chagas disease, microfilaria and sickle cell. Other sample types, such as sputum, feces and tissue are also being tested.
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Source: Motic; Photo: EasyScan GO.
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