Breakthrough innovation for high sensitivity TB and Malaria diagnostics

Nov 15 2007

At this year's 39th World Forum for Medicine in Dusseldorf (MEDICA, November 14-17), Partec, a globally leading developer, manufacturer and provider of dedicated diagnostic solutions in the response to HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is presenting a breakthrough innovation for high sensitivity TB and Malaria diagnostics in low- and middle-income countries.

Until today, efforts in the challenge to address the urgent needs for increasing patient coverage suffered from the massive bottleneck of missing available diagnostic tools which would be feasible for routine use in regions with low or difficult infrastructure. By combining the worldwide first battery-operated and mobile fluorescence microscope "CyScope", developed by Partec, with dedicated test kits, for the first time diagnostic services are being offered in high burden countries also to those patients living far from the few capital and large cities in remote areas.

"The prerequisite for any improvement of treatment programmes in the TB and Malaria field is the availability of diagnostic solutions adapted to the specific regional situation and infrastructure, especially in developing countries. By having successfully introduced an entirely new class of highly affordable, ultracompact as well as robust and easy-to-use mobile fluorescence microscopes, it is now possible to reach the many infected individuals who previously have stayed almost completely uncovered from any testing for TB and Malaria", said Roland Gohde, Chief Executive Officer of Partec Essential Healthcare. "Due to the development in modern component technology it was possible to design a unique compact microscope unit based on an innovative optical system and new ultra-bright light-emitting diodes (LEDs), offering significant benefits not only in terms of sensitivity, durability and robustness, but in addition making available fluorescence microscopy at instrument cost below EUR 1000." Conventional fluorescence microscopes usually are in the range of above EUR 15.000.

Besides the fluorescence microscopes, also the required TB and Malaria test kits, approved for in vitro diagnostic use (IVD), are available from Partec. For the TB reagents, a cooperation with Merck in Darmstadt, Germany, has been entered. Merck, producing highly suitable TB staining kits, is a globally leading pharmaceutical and chemical company with a tradition of over 300 years.

The CyScope is already widely in use in Africa, Asia and Europe and has been clinically validated with very positive results, both for TB and Malaria, by different international research groups, e.g. in Ghana, Benin, French Guyana, Nigeria and by the worldwide renowned and reputable Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg. In June 2007, the CyScope was honoured with the IQ Innovation Award Central Germany.