The project will involve 2,000 patients who are tested for malaria at four health facilities located in malaria endemic areas of Kisumu and Siaya in western Kenya. The work will be conducted from July to December 2024. The project will compare and evaluate Noul’s digital microscopy-based malaria diagnostic solution with rapid diagnostic tests and local microscopy to field-validate the effectiveness of Noul’s product as a malaria diagnostic solution.
Dr. Simon Kariuki, the Head of KEMRI/Centre for Global Health Research Malaria Program, in Kisumu said, “WHO recommends confirming malaria through quality-assured microscopy or rapid diagnostic tests in malaria-endemic areas such as western Kenya. There are many challenges with the currently recommended tests for the diagnosis of malaria, and new technology is urgently needed to improve the quality of diagnosis of malaria. We hope that Noul’s digital microscopy-based malaria diagnostic solution will greatly improve the effectiveness of malaria diagnosis in the field.”
According to the WHO report released last April 2024, ‘Digital Malaria Microscopy’ is mentioned as a major task that the international community must implement to combat malaria. miLab™ MAL is an automated diagnostic solution which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to improve microscopy by detecting and displaying images of parasites for the laboratory technician. Unlike rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) that determine infection by antigen-antibody reactions, miLab™ MAL utilizes a morphological diagnostic approach allowing accurate diagnostic testing regardless of the presence of pfhrp2/3 deletions, which are currently spreading across Africa.
Dr. Tae-hwan Kim, the Head of Business Division of Noul, said, “Noul’s miLab™ MAL is proving its top-notch diagnostic performance beyond field microscopy in major African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Ethiopia, as reported in several publications. Through the project with the U.S. CDC and KEMRI, Noul plans to establish miLab™ MAL as the best-performing product to solve the global malaria diagnostic problem and prepare a bridgehead for entering the U.S. market based on secured references.”
Kenya has about 3.5 million malaria infections per year, with 13 million tests performed annually to diagnose malaria. Western Kenya is a place where quality-assured malaria diagnostic methods are needed for all febrile patients before treatment, and the current diagnostic methods, microscopy and RDTs, pose several challenges making it difficult to accurately diagnose malaria. This is why new digital technology, Noul’s miLab™ MAL, is needed to improve malaria diagnosis.
