"It's a ridiculous invention that will never, ever, ever work." That's how renowned Dutch mosquito and malaria expert Dr Bart Knols assesses a US invention that was being widely praised as a way to help prevent the spread of malaria.

The invention he is referring to is the 'photonic fence', a brainchild of ex-Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold. The system tracks insects in the air, identifies their species and kills them individually with a blast of energy from a laser. The company claims that, by focusing on mosquitos, the technology could become an important weapon in the battle against malaria.

About Malaria

About 3.3 billion people - half of the world's population - are at risk of malaria. Every year, around 250 million people become infected and almost one million die of the disease. People living in the poorest countries are the most vulnerable.

Malaria is a particularly serious problem in Africa, where one in every five (20%) childhood deaths is due to the effects of the disease. The average child in Africa can suffer up to 5.4 episodes of malaria fever each year. And every 30 seconds a child dies of malaria. (WHO)

Unicef's map on Malaria transmission in the world.

Star Wars
Mr Myhrvold's company, Intellectual Ventures, recently presented the laser system at the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conference. He admits that the Star Wars-inspired technology is one of his company's higher risk and less practical inventions. However, he sees no reason why it could not work in Africa.

Dr Knols, on the other hand, argues that the high cost of the equipment needed to run the system and the lack of a stable energy supply make the photonic fence a totally impractical and inefficient use of resources.

Damning criticism
Dr Knols also points out that, far from being a new invention, the photonic fence concept was unveiled almost one year ago and has only been shown to work in a laboratory setting.

Dr Knols' most damning criticism of Intellectual Ventures is that the company is acting immorally and unethically by marketing its product using the statistic that a child dies of malaria every 43 seconds.

Photonic future
Whether the photonic fence actually makes it beyond the world of slick conference presentations and scientific journals and into rural areas of Africa remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure, Dr Bart Knols' assessment is a sobering one, which should at least give Intellectual Ventures food for thought.

Perhaps this alternative video by the Groen Brothers provides a more accurate assessment of the future of the photonic fence. What do you think?