Developing a new leprosy diagnostic test

描述（申请人提供）：麻风病是一种古老的疾病，几千年来一直给人类造成痛苦。虽然化疗和诊断已经取得了进展，但仍然迫切需要一种良好的诊断测试，以改善监测和早期发现。我们有机会获得候选蛋白质和诊断平台，可以彻底改变麻风病的诊断。在本申请中，我们将构建原型并在大量人群中对其进行评估，以证明这些工具比目前批准的诊断试剂盒更有效。如果现场测试顺利，我们将继续生产和销售这种产品。我们希望在本资助周期结束时，能够进行下一代麻风病诊断实地测试。公共卫生相关性可靠地预测和诊断麻风病将大大有助于世界各地的治疗和根除计划。通过验证和商业化这一领域的测试，我们打算改善全球健康。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Leprosy is an age-old disease that has been causing human suffering for millennia. Although chemotherapeutic and diagnostic advances have been made, there is still an urgent need for a good diagnostic test in order to improve monitoring and early detection. We have access to protein candidates and a diagnostic platform that could revolutionize the diagnosis of leprosy. In this application we will build prototypes and evaluate them in large populations to demonstrate that these tools work better than the currently approved diagnostic kits. If the field testing goes well we will proceed with manufacture and marketing of this product. We hope to have the next generation diagnostic field test for leprosy at the end of this funding cycle. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE Reliably predicting and diagnosing leprosy would greatly assist treatment and eradication programs around the world. By validating and commercializing this field test we intend to improve global health.