{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,31]],"date-time":"2026-10-31T00:31:01Z","timestamp":1793406661005,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,31]],"date-time":"2024-12-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1735603200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Microbiology Department of Vall d\u2019Hebron University Hospital"},{"name":"Cooperation Centre of the Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Catalunya (CCD-UPC) and Probitas Foundation"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The gold standard diagnosis for malaria is the microscopic visualization of blood smears to identify Plasmodium parasites, although it is an expert-dependent technique and could trigger diagnostic errors. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools based on digital image analysis were postulated as a suitable supportive alternative for automated malaria diagnosis. A diagnostic evaluation of the iMAGING AI-based system was conducted in the reference laboratory of the International Health Unit Drassanes-Vall d\u2019Hebron in Barcelona, Spain. iMAGING is an automated device for the diagnosis of malaria by using artificial intelligence image analysis tools and a robotized microscope. A total of 54 Giemsa-stained thick blood smear samples from travelers and migrants coming from endemic areas were employed and analyzed to determine the presence\/absence of Plasmodium parasites. AI diagnostic results were compared with expert light microscopy gold standard method results. The AI system shows 81.25% sensitivity and 92.11% specificity when compared with the conventional light microscopy gold standard method. Overall, 48\/54 (88.89%) samples were correctly identified [13\/16 (81.25%) as positives and 35\/38 (92.11%) as negatives]. The mean time of the AI system to determine a positive malaria diagnosis was 3 min and 48 s, with an average of 7.38 FoV analyzed per sample. Statistical analyses showed the Kappa Index = 0.721, demonstrating a satisfactory correlation between the gold standard diagnostic method and iMAGING results. The AI system demonstrated reliable results for malaria diagnosis in a reference laboratory in Barcelona. Validation in malaria-endemic regions will be the next step to evaluate its potential in resource-poor settings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph22010047","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,31]],"date-time":"2024-12-31T14:21:12Z","timestamp":1735654872000},"page":"47","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Evaluation of an Artificial Intelligence-Based Tool and a Universal Low-Cost Robotized Microscope for the Automated Diagnosis of Malaria"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"22","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5615-9278","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carles","family":"Rubio Maturana","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Microbiology Department, Vall d\u2019Hebron University Hospital, Vall d\u2019Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), 08035 Barcelona, Spain"},{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Genetics, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8267-9760","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Allisson Dantas","family":"de Oliveira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Computational Biology and Complex Systems Group, Physics Department, Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Catalunya (UPC), 08860 Castelldefels, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francesc","family":"Zarzuela","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microbiology Department, Vall d\u2019Hebron University Hospital, Vall d\u2019Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), 08035 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alejandro","family":"Mediavilla","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microbiology Department, Vall d\u2019Hebron University Hospital, Vall d\u2019Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), 08035 Barcelona, Spain"},{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Genetics, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Patricia","family":"Mart\u00ednez-Vallejo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microbiology Department, Vall d\u2019Hebron University Hospital, Vall d\u2019Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), 08035 Barcelona, Spain"},{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Genetics, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aroa","family":"Silgado","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microbiology Department, Vall d\u2019Hebron University Hospital, Vall d\u2019Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), 08035 Barcelona, Spain"},{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Genetics, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Barcelona, Spain"},{"name":"Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n Biom\u00e9dica en Red Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1471-4461","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lidia","family":"Goterris","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microbiology Department, Vall d\u2019Hebron University Hospital, Vall d\u2019Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), 08035 Barcelona, Spain"},{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Genetics, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marc","family":"Muix\u00ed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microbiology Department, Vall d\u2019Hebron University Hospital, Vall d\u2019Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), 08035 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3223-2186","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alberto","family":"Abell\u00f3","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Database Technologies and Information Management Group, Service and Information Systems Engineering Department, Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Catalunya (UPC), 08034 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anna","family":"Veiga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Probitas Foundation, 08022 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0408-4526","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Daniel","family":"L\u00f3pez-Codina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Computational Biology and Complex Systems Group, Physics Department, Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Catalunya (UPC), 08860 Castelldefels, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elena","family":"Sulleiro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microbiology Department, Vall d\u2019Hebron University Hospital, Vall d\u2019Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), 08035 Barcelona, Spain"},{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Genetics, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Barcelona, Spain"},{"name":"Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n Biom\u00e9dica en Red Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elisa","family":"Sayrol","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tecnocampus, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08302 Matar\u00f3, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Joan","family":"Joseph-Munn\u00e9","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microbiology Department, Vall d\u2019Hebron University Hospital, Vall d\u2019Hebron Research 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