Handheld, mobile phone-based microscopes can be used in developing countries after minimal training of community laboratory technicians to diagnose intestinal parasites quickly and accurately.

A first of its kind, community-based study carried out in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa found that two different handheld microscopes could both effectively rule in individuals infected by parasites – important in allocating resources for public health screening – but varied in their sensitivity to detect all cases of an illness, in comparison to a conventional laboratory microscope.

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