kataoaka and his team want to be able to ice late a single layer to simplify the process. this is how they do that. one member of the team pours red blood cells onto the slide. they use a solution to wash away the piled up cells. the holes in the slide are shaped so that only one layer of cells is left. they've been dyed to reflect a certain wavelength of light. that makes it easier to see which ones are infected. the team tried using various sizes, depths, and shapes for the hole. they spent almost a year coming up with the right design. >> translator: the most difficult part was lining up more than 2 million red blood cells in a single layer, and getting accurate results every time. without any inconsistencies. >> reporter: 90% of malaria victims are from sub-saharan africa. the low cost and simplicity of the technology impressed doctors in uganda last year. when katoaka's team tried it out there. the team is working on ways to improve the procedure, by making the detection machine smaller and cheaper. >> translator: our goal is to make a machine the size of a laptop com