Embedded-deep-learning-based sample-to-answer device for on-site malaria diagnosis.

Improvements in digital microscopy are critical for the development of a malaria diagnosis method that is accurate at the cellular level and exhibits satisfactory clinical performance. Digital microscopy can be enhanced by improving deep learning algorithms and achieving consistent staining results. In this study, a novel miLab™ device incorporating the solid hydrogel staining method was proposed for consistent blood film preparation, eliminating the use of complex equipment and liquid reagent maintenance.

Enhancing malaria detection in resource-limited areas: A high-performance colorimetric LAMP assay for Plasmodium falciparum screening.

Malaria eradication efforts in resource-limited areas require a rapid, economical, and accurate tool for detecting of the low parasitemia. The malaria rapid diagnostic test (mRDT) is the most suitable for on-site detection of the deadliest form of malaria, Plasmodium falciparum. However, the deletions of histidine rich protein 2 and 3 genes are known to compromise the effectiveness of mRDT.

A systematic approach to developing a global surgery elective.

Background: Interest in global health has been increasing for years among American residents and medical students. Many residency programs have developed global health tracks or electives in response to this need.

Objectives: Our goal was to create a global surgery elective based on a synergistic partnership between our institution and a hospital in the developing world.

Knowledge and malaria treatment practices using artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) in Malawi: survey of health professionals.

Background: Malaria still remains a life-threatening disease worldwide causing between 190 and 311 million cases of malaria in 2008. Due to increased resistance to sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP), the Ministry of Health in Malawi, as in many sub-Saharan African countries, changed the malaria treatment policy to use artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). In order to optimize the correct use of this drug, and protect against the development of the parasite's resistance, it is important to assess the knowledge and practices of medical practitioners on the use of ACT and its impact on adherence to new treatment policy guidelines.

Constraints to implementing the Essential Health Package in Malawi.

Increasingly seen as a useful tool of health policy, Essential or Minimal Health Packages direct resources to interventions that aim to address the local burden of disease and be cost-effective. Less attention has been paid to the delivery mechanisms for such interventions. This study aimed to assess the degree to which the Essential Health Package (EHP) in Malawi was available to its population and what health system constraints impeded its full implementation.

Malawi's contribution to "3 by 5": achievements and challenges.

Problem: Many resource-poor countries have started scaling up antiretroviral therapy (ART). While reports from individual clinics point to successful implementation, there is limited information about progress in government institutions at a national level.

Approach: Malawi started national ART scale-up in 2004 using a structured approach.

Ensuring uninterrupted supplies of antiretroviral drugs in resource-poor settings: an example from Malawi.

Problem: Drug procurement and distribution practices are weak in many resource-poor countries, and are a major reason for lack of access to medicines. With many countries scaling up antiretroviral therapy (ART), it is vital to avoid interrupted drug supplies, which would lead to drug resistance and treatment failure.

Approach: Malawi has adapted a model, based on that adopted by the country's Tuberculosis Control Programme, to allow rational ART drug forecasting.