African student invents a malaria detector after his brother died

Torpout Nyarikjor is an Ethiopian student who lost his brother to the mosquito-borne disease. “When I was young, I witnessed my older brother die of malaria. At the time I felt deeply sad and believed that I could one day stop it, but I didn’t know how,” Torpout said.

Torpout invented a device, called ‘Tor’, to detect malaria instantly. By inserting a finger in the device, laser sensors can identify whether the blood is infected or not. “Anyone who can read can use the device,” Torpout said.

Using Tor, positive patients will be able to take the medication to treat malaria earlier on, increasing the survival rate.

Tor is about 70% accurate and Torpout is working on improving it. The device won the regional level of the innovation competition organised by iCog Labs.
Torpout wants to develop other projects involving young people with technical know-how and has great ambitions for how his device will be able to change lives.

Adapted from: https://www.businessghana.com/site/news/politics/196900/%27Student-inven...