Mobile Fluorescence Microscope Aids TB and Malaria Diagnosis in Remote Areas

A battery-operated mobile fluorescence microscope, together with test kits, will provide highly sensitive tuberculosis (TB) and malaria diagnostics in high-burden countries, especially to communities in remote areas.

The microscope, called CyScope, was developed by Partec (Görlitz, Germany) and is already being widely in use in Africa, Asia, and Europe. The compact unit is based on an innovative optical system and new ultra-bright light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The instrument is very inexpensive. It has been clinically validated for both TB and malaria by different international research groups and by the Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine (Hamburg, Germany).

In addition to the fluorescence microscopes, TB and malaria test kits, approved for in vitro diagnostic use (IVD), are available from Partec. For the TB reagents, Partec is collaborating with Merck in (Darmstadt, Germany), which produces highly stable TB staining kits.

"The prerequisite for any improvement of treatment programs in the TB and malaria field is the availability of diagnostic solutions adapted to the specific regional situation and infrastructure, especially in developing countries. By having successfully introduced an entirely new class of highly affordable, ultra compact, as well as robust and easy-to-use mobile fluorescence microscopes, it is now possible to reach the many infected individuals who previously have stayed almost completely uncovered from any testing for TB and malaria,” said Roland Gohde, CEO of Partec Essential Healthcare.


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Partec
Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine