A South African inventor has developed a wristwatch that combats malaria. It operates by monitoring the wearer’s blood and alerts them when it detects parasites.
Gervan Lubbe stated that his watch will be available for purchase next month. It detects and eliminates malaria parasites early enough that the likelihood of death for the wearer is nearly nonexistent.
This type of watch uses a tiny needle to prick the wearer’s wrist four times a day to test the blood for malaria parasites.
If the level of parasites reaches 50, the watch will sound an alarm and a picture of a mosquito will flash on the display.
In this case, the wearer must immediately take three pills. These pills will eradicate all malaria parasites within 48 hours.
| According to WHO, malaria has claimed the lives of over 1 million people worldwide and has caused severe illness in more than 300 million individuals. 90% of deaths are concentrated in the sub-Saharan region of Africa. |
According to Lubbe, waiting until malaria symptoms appear could leave patients bedridden for six months and require them to take large amounts of quinine medication.
Lubbe’s company, Gervans Trading, has received orders worth $1.5 million from companies, governments, and aid organizations operating in Africa. WHO is also very interested in distributing this watch in rural areas of Africa.
The watch is also very useful for travelers or those working in malaria-endemic regions. The price of one watch is $280, which is cheaper than the treatment costs for a severe malaria patient.
Lubbe, 38, won a gold medal for the world’s best medical invention (a pain relief device) at the International Invention Exhibition in Geneva in 1998.
Minh Sơn (According to Reuters)
