Gregory Stephen with Robert Brown and Bob Deissler
Design and Implementation of a Low Cost Malaria Diagnosis Device
A major challenge in malaria diagnosis is the need for a cheap, portable device capable of detecting low concentrations of the malaria pigment, hemozoin. The malaria parasite converts hemoglobin in the blood into heme which is then converted into the crystalline hemozoin. These crystals are dichroic and paramagnetic: Thus, an applied magnetic field will align the crystals such that light passing through the crystal is attenuated differently depending on its polarization. This effect has previously been used to build a device using rotating permanent magnets. Here we aim to build a low cost device to detect low levels of hemozoin in blood without the use of moving parts. I will also investigate the structure of the hemozoin crystals to better understand the origin of the dichroism and magnetic properties of the hemozoin.