Mari Test

The problem we are trying to solve is the limited access to early Malaria diagnosis in Africa. Malaria affects millions of people the world over every year. In 2021, 240 million people were infected with Malaria. Over 600 000 of them lost their lives, and 95% of those deaths occurred in Africa. In addition to that, every 30 seconds, a child dies because of Malaria in Africa. All of this is according to a World Malaria Report of 2021 by the World Health Organization. Even though Malaria is preventable and curable, more people die in Africa than elsewhere because the over 2 million health facilities spread across the continent do not have adequate resources to test for Malaria. They have poor infrastructure and lack trained personnel.

Mari Test is a bloodless, automated, Malaria testing device that leverages machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), and advanced sensor technology. A Malaria diagnosis is made by testing for three variables - the presence of hemozoin, the opacity of red blood cells, and body temperature.

Hemozoin is a byproduct of a biochemical reaction when red blood cells are infected with the parasite that causes Malaria. Mari Test detects hemozoin by sensing its magnetic properties. The device utilizes a micro controller powered by AI and machine learning algorithms to diagnose Malaria accurately. It analyzes the collected data to determine whether the patient is infected with Malaria. The results are displayed on the device screen and can be accessed through a mobile application. The entire testing process takes about two minutes.

Our solution will serve millions across Africa, predominantly in remote areas, people like Kakooza Hakim, who by 2021 almost lost his life because he did not get a diagnosis on time while interning in Bussi Island, Lake Victoria, where there is limited to no access to Malaria testing services.

In the over two million health facilities across Africa, Malaria testing is complex because of limited access to early diagnosis equipment like Laboratory microscopes and rapid test diagnostic test kits.These underserviced and understaffed medical laboratories take time to give a diagnosis and enroll the patient in the treatment program.

Unlike existing testing devices, Mari Test does not require drawing blood to give a diagnosis, and this saves time for the patient and the health facility. This process further depends on having the right equipment and hygienic environment to draw blood, which slows the diagnosis of Malaria.

Mari Test is not restricted to use by a single patient and gives a diagnosis in under two minutes. This will significantly improve access to testing services because the current testing methods are limited to one patient and take a lengthy period to diagnose. The improvement in the turnaround time will significantly ensure that Malaria patients are diagnosed early and given treatment. The biggest reason why millions of people in Africa succumb to Malaria is that it takes time for them to know definitively that they have Malaria, and they cannot be treated until that determination can be made.

Our team embraces the concept of Human Centered Design, we have been conducting research and consultation meetings with the people of Bisu Island and other affected communities in Uganda in our efforts to understand the root cause. Hakim Kakooza has been taking the lead there, as this is where he was interning in 2021 when he contracted Malaria and almost lost his life because he could not get an early diagnosis. 

In addition to that, our team has a variety of skill sets, from design, coding, data analysis and financial modeling that have enabled us to develop a prototype at this stage. Our team is also backed by experts on the field of Malaria, research and development who serve as our advisors

We already have the device assembled, we are currently working on checking if it will function the way we intend it to. it is not yet serving even a small number of users.

Currently we are in our final Prototype stage, and therefore Mari Test has not served any population. We are still collecting data and checking the limits of our solution before we can move on to our last stage of development and then Mari Test can be officially released to the market. 

We are applying first and foremost to put our proposed solution front and center in one of the most leading social entrepreneurial movements in the world. We believe this will allow us access to like minded entrepreneurs in the world, give us an opportunity to access leadership and strategic mentorship in the MIT network. We understand that this opportunity also comes with receiving monitoring and evaluation support which we believe we need for Mari test to be a success. 

Our solution is bloodless as compared to the existing solution that tests for Malaria. It uses Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to give a malaria  diagnosis and this is expected to be done in under two minutes. The time sensitivity of Mari Test will significantly improve the turnaround time which is one major stumble in the fight against Malaria in Africa. Most people end up succumbing to Malaria because they did not get a diagnosis on time and subsequently cannot be enrolled for treatment. Malaria is preventable but the slow pace and inadequate resources to diagnose make it hard to prevent the unfortunate loss of life.

Secondly Mari Test can be used by multiple patients, this is a major impact because Africa experiences inadequacy in resources and Rapid test kits can only be used once. Mari Test will significantly improve access to diagnosis.

Mari Test will revolutionize the fight against Malaria as it is not only capable of giving a swift diagnosis, it will be collecting data which is another area that hampers how we can adequately fight malaria. In Africa data collection on Malaria cases is a major challenge as the existing diagnosis devices do not capture data, and it has to be captured manually.

Our impact goal for the next year is to have Mari Test launched and being at the forefront of serving the market in at least two countries, Uganda and Rwanda. These are the two countries that we have earmarked because of the immense support they provide for Health Startups. With that being said, we wish to be serving at least 20 percent of the population that is affected by Malaria.

To increase access, we wish to have partnered with Health based organization in most of the countries in the East Africa region. These includes community based organizations that we are already working on in our prototyping stage.

In the next five years, we wish to be operating in over at least six countries in East Africa and having a market share of 40 percent. There are over 2 million health care facilities spread across the African continent that are fighting against Malaria.

In addition to this, we want to impact the market by having designed and created a Malaria database which will act as a central point for information on Malaria that governments, NGO's and anyone involved in the fight against Malaria can leverage on for informed decisions.

Our main measurement of progress is to ensure that at least 20% of the malaria patients get access to early diagnosis in the next 3 years. The
specific indicators is to contribute to the Sustainable Goal of ending malaria by 2030 with a Malaria incidence per 1,000 population.

Our theory is change is that, having access to early Malaria diagnosis is key in preventing Malaria and cases of death through Malaria. This will be done through testing vulnerable populations that have limited access in the first place. The short term outcomes will be that, as more and more people get tested, we are able to ensure that those who are infected get enrolled in the treatment process. The long term outcomes will be collection of data to make informed decisions in determining Malaria hot sports and dedicating more of our resources to, to stop the spread of Malaria.

At its core, our solution embraces Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence to detect Malaria parasites in the human body and give a diagnosis. 

Currently our core team is made up of 3 male identifying staff who come from three different countries and two regions in Africa. We recognize that it can still and needs to strive towards being more diverse, we are actively recruiting two qualified female identifying individuals to join our team to ensure that we have a gender balance which is one of the main aims of Mari Test.  

In terms of actually servicing the market, our solution will be aimed at proving access to people from all walks of life, from refugees, to low income communities and even to the affluent because Malaria is a disease that knows no race nor economic status.

Malaria continues to be a major cause of death especially in Africa, with children under the age of five being most affected. One of the major leading factors is the inability to get an early diagnosis due to the strained health sector which is under resourced to detect Malaria early. This is a crucial challenge to the goal of eradicating Malaria by 2030. Therefore Mari Test is a solution that can bridge the gap between infection and diagnosis can save lives and reduce malaria transmission, particularly in Africa. There we intend on serving the following:

Customer Segments

• Primary Customers: Health facilities such as clinics, health centers, laboratories, pharmacies, hospitals, etc. that require a simple, accurate, and fast malaria diagnosis solution to improve patient care and treatment.

• Secondary Customers: Government and non-government agencies working towards the eradication of malaria, as well as medical equipment wholesalers, who are interested in providing innovative and sustainable healthcare solutions to their customers.

Channels

• Direct Sales to medical facilities

• Partnerships with organizations and agencies

• Digital Marketing i.e., social media and search engine optimization

• Attending Trade Shows and Conferences

Our revenue streams that will make us financially stable are as follows.

• Direct sales to healthcare providers and institutions.

• Leasing or rental of the Mari -Test device to institutions especially NGOs during campaigns. 

• Refurbishing and reselling of used Mari - Test devices to new customers, either directly or through a third-party vendor.

• Partnering with recycling companies to recycle the materials used in the device.

So far, we have invested $600 that we raised from our savings as the founders of Mari Test,and then we also won second place in the Futurize Fuel Africa 2023 competition that also came with another $600. This is the money that we used to develop our prototype that we are currently testing.