Gates Foundation Awards Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Researcher Grant for Malaria Detection Using Cellphones
Gates Foundation Awards Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Researcher Grant for Malaria Detection Using Cellphones
May 13, 2011
Medical Research, Press Releases
BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, May 5, 2011 — Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researcher Alberto Bilenca, Ph.D. has been awarded a prestigious grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a fast, low-cost device to accurately diagnose malaria without the need for blood collection in field settings.
Bilenca’s project is based on a standard camera cellphone and a red laser pointer that can noninvasively obtain finger blood perfusion images with excellent resolution and contrast in less of a second. It uses the principles of optical polarization/speckle and cellphone technology built into a portable probe that creates images that depict malaria pigment (hemozoin crystals) in blood as well as micro-obstructions in the circulatory system that result from the infection. View a video on Reuters about this potentially life-saving technology >>
In contrast to commercially available malaria tests, this probe will avoid the need for blood collection, therefore maximizing medical safety, patient comfort and test rapidity. Malaria causes approximately 1 million deaths per year throughout developing countries (~85 percent of which are children under five).
“Our diagnostic probe is portable, simple to use and inexpensive to produce,” Bilenca explains. “This probe helps meet the need for diagnostic technologies capable of noninvasive, reliable and rapid diagnosis of malaria in resource-limited areas. It will aid in the patient triage at hospitals and also be of tremendous value in monitoring these patients in intensive care settings prompting aggressive treatment in severe malaria cases when necessary.”
Bilenca received one of 88 grants awarded to explore bold and largely unproven ways to improve global health. The $100,000 grants have been awarded to researchers from 25 countries. This marks the sixth round of funding from Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE), an initiative designed to help lower the barriers for testing innovative ideas in global health.
Projects selected for funding focused on polio eradication and vaccines, cellphone applications for global health, new approaches to cure HIV, sanitation technologies, and new ideas to improve the health of mothers and newborns. Winners were selected from more than 2,500 proposals and approximately 100 countries.
“GCE winners are expanding the pipeline of ideas to address serious global health and development challenges where creative thinking is most urgently needed. This effort is critical if we are to spur on new discoveries that ultimately could save millions more lives,” said Chris Wilson, director of Global Health Discovery at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Dr. Bilenca is a member of BGU’s Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, where he is establishing a state-of-the-art laboratory in the fields of biomedical and nano optics. He is collaborating with Dr. Linnie Golightly, M.D. at the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.
ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.
About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.
We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.
BGU at a glance:
20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.
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