Researchers from the Universities of Exeter and Coventry, have developed a new test that will make diagnosing malaria a matter of minutes.

The results have indicated that this technique could be as effective as RDTs but far faster and cheaper, making it a potentially viable alternative.

Currently the team is working on a non-invasive version of the device, which will soon go under trail in Kenya later this year.

The technique took two years in the making, and uses magneto-optic technology (MOT) to detect haemozoin, a waste product of the malarial parasite, in the blood.

Haemozoin crystals are weakly magnetic and have a distinct rectangular form. They also exhibit optical dichroism, which means that they absorb light more strongly along their length than across their width. When aligned by a magnetic field they behave like a weak Polaroid sheet such as used in sunglasses.

The new method makes use of all these properties to come out with a precise reading of the presence of haemozoin in a small blood sample. In fact, the team has also created a device, which gives a positive or negative reading for malaria in less than a minute.

The new device has a totally different approach from RDTs and high-power microscopy for malaria diagnosis.

While high-power microscopy is time-consuming and requires expensive equipment and specialist medical skills, RDTs allow for faster diagnosis in the field, but these are too costly to be viable for developing countries.