Researchers in advanced countries like the United Kingdom are now working with partners in African countries, including Ghana, to pilot these technologies and scale up their full-time implementation, and to provide real-time diagnosis of malaria.

“One of the most interesting applications that we’ve identified at the moment is using the Dragon Fly test to identify people carrying malaria parasites in their blood,” Prof. Aubrey Cunnington, the Head of Department of Infectious Disease at Imperial College London, said.

“If you want to eliminate malaria like Ghana does, then we need to identify these people and clear the parasite in their blood by giving them treatment. So, this test may allow for the first time for us to be able to do that… test people in the community, give them treatment straightaway and we think that is a really exciting prospect,” he told 3news’ Christian Yalley in an interview.

These researchers are currently developing what is also known as ‘Lab on Chip’ to tackle infectious diseases.

“It [Lacewing] needs to be developed to a point that is ready to be produced as a commercial product so we’re not quite there with that one yet but we’re making amazing progress.”

“Ghana Health Service (GHS) has been a very important partner in this project. Actually, one of the things they are doing is helping us to work with variety of stakeholders and the public in Ghana to have these test migrated into the existing health system,” Prof. Cunnington added.

Across many African countries, access to quick and reliable healthcare has often depended on distance, infrastructure and time. But today, science is changing that story.

But as with any new technology, questions remain because many worry about accuracy, data privacy and whether standards can be maintained outside traditional laboratory settings.

“These tests go through vigorous quality control process. Every test includes standards in it that tell you the test has worked properly… they tell you whether your test is giving you good results or the test has failed.”

“There is internal quality control as well as the quality control in the manufacturing process,” Prof. Cunnington explained.

The collaboration with researchers on the continent is to ensure that the technology will be relevant to, and optimized for, a variety of contexts.

Researchers and health providers are working to strike a balance in making healthcare faster without lowering standards, but what is clear is that these portable diagnostics are no longer just an idea – they’re already transforming healthcare in Ghana.