Fig. 1

Scheme showing the study design. First, thin blood smears were digitalized using a mobile coupled to an adaptor (Universal Digiscoping, Cellscope). In a qualitative survey, images were shown to volunteers in order to find an easier and colloquial way to designate the different stages and species of Plasmodium. Using the definitions suggested by non-experts, a quantitative form was designed to evaluate the ability of new participants to provide an accurate classification of Plasmodium species, by differentiating the three main parameters observed on parasitized red blood cells: parasite stage, parasite shape and infected red blood cell size