MALARIA PERDHAKI, Jakarta – Indonesia National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) is developing innovation based on artificial intelligence or artificial intelligence (AI) in the public health sector. One of the efforts is through the development of a malaria diagnosis system. This advanced system is designed to automatically determine a patient’s malaria infection status through in-depth analysis of microphotographs of thin and thick blood smears.

Head of the Research Center for Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity (PRKAKS) at BRIN, Anto Satriyo Nugroho, stated that the data used in this development comes from various regions across Indonesia, allowing the system to recognize a wide range of malaria parasite species.

"The unique aspect of this system's development lies in the use of morpho-geometric feature extraction, which enables the AI to identify the size and shape characteristics of infected blood cells," said Anto in a written statement on Wednesday, March 8, 2025.

He acknowledged the challenges in developing the malaria diagnosis system due to the morphological changes of the malaria parasite throughout its life cycle. “The morphological changes of the malaria parasite during its life cycle pose a challenge for diagnosis and are a key focus. At BRIN, we are very optimistic that continuous research and development of AI will be able to create vital diagnostic tools and contribute significantly to malaria eradication efforts in Indonesia,” he said.

Anto added that BRIN encourages collaboration between researchers, industry, and the government to accelerate the development of AI technology that aligns with local needs. The development of AI based on local data, which can enhance efficiency and accuracy in various applications, is one of its main focuses.

Anto emphasized that BRIN’s research vision regarding AI is to develop AI that works alongside humans, not to replace them. The research focuses on supporting various strategic sectors in Indonesia, including education, health, and cybersecurity.

“AI has great potential to provide innovative solutions to national challenges, especially in this era of rapid digital transformation,” said Anto.

Anto mentioned that the use of the Mobile Automated Multi-Biometric Identification System (MAMBIS) by the police to identify victims—such as those of accidents or disasters—is one example of how AI is currently being utilized.

This identification process, he said, is carried out using fingerprint scanning—either directly or through latent fingerprints—or by scanning the iris. “Each Police Resort (Polres) at the city or district level is equipped with two MAMBIS devices, enabling them to efficiently identify victims at the scene,” he stated.

Not only that, according to Anto, there is now facial recognition technology (face recognition) implemented at Solo Balapan Station to simplify the process of entering the train platform area. This initiative not only speeds up entry time to about one second, compared to the manual method of five seconds, but also improves accuracy.

This technology is supported by the role of the government, including the Ministry of Home Affairs for the technical specifications of the electronic ID card (KTP-el), the National Standardization Agency (BSN) for drafting the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) related to biometric data in the KTP-el chip, as well as support from industry and BRIN for the development of biometric authentication systems.

According to Anto, BRIN as the driving force behind AI research and innovation plays a role and contributes to improving the quality of life for the Indonesian people. “Collaboration is the key to the success of AI research in Indonesia. By utilizing local data and competent human resources, we can create technology that is not only advanced but also tailored to the Indonesian context,” he said.

This article is taken from Tempo’s publication. Republishing for documentation purposes regarding knowledge on malaria management. Link: https://www.tempo.co/sains/brin-kembangkan-sistem-diagnosis-malaria-berbasis-kecerdasan-buatan-1229096