The SMMALA project seeks to improve the diagnosis of malaria by developing approaches based on the automatic analysis of images of thick film slides placed under the microscope. The ANR project led by UMR MERIT (leader Gilles Cottrell) and co-directed by the computational bioimaging team of the Institute of Biology of the Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS, rue d'Ulm in Paris). It is based on the development of a deep learning algorithm based on a smartphone application. The proof of concept, obtained thanks to IRD and UPCité funding, made it possible to obtain support from the ANR to improve the deep learning algorithm, embed the application on a smartphone, then test the tool (acceptability and effectiveness ) in the field in endemic areas. This project is closely supported by the Innovation and Valorization Department of the Ile-de-France delegation of the IRD on aspects of intellectual property, economic model and patent filing. The continuation of the SMMALA project will be effective on November 1, 2023 with the opening of ANR credits.
This project is carried out in collaboration with the National Reference Center for Malaria and the Clinical Research Institute of Benin (IRCB).