Abstract:
Malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, uses haemoglobin in host red blood cells (RBCs) as a major source of
nutrient in ring and trophozoite stages. This brings about changes in the morphology and functional
characteristics of the RBCs. We investigate malaria infected RBCs and uninfected RBCs-ring and trophozoite
stages using multispectral imaging technique. Four spectral bands were found to be markers for identifying
infected and uninfected RBCs: 435 nm and 660 nm were common markers for the two stages whiles 590 nm and
625 nm were markers for the ring and the trophozoite stages respectively. These four spectral bands may offer
potential diagnostic markers for identifying infected and uninfected RBCs, as well as distinguishing ring and
trophozoite stages.
