Transdermal diagnosis of malaria using vapor nanobubbles

A fast, precise, noninvasive, high-throughput, and simple approach for detecting malaria in humans and mosquitoes is not possible with current techniques that depend on blood sampling, reagents, facilities, tedious procedures, and trained personnel. We designed a device for rapid (20-second) noninvasive diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum infection in a malaria patient without drawing blood or using any reagent. This method uses transdermal optical excitation and acoustic detection of vapor nanobubbles around intraparasite hemozoin. The same device also identified individual malaria parasite–infected Anopheles mosquitoes in a few seconds and can be realized as a low-cost universal tool for clinical and field diagnoses.