Hashimoto M, et al. – Researchers here aim at establishing a method that allows for microscopic examination of Giemsa–stained cells spread in a monolayer on almost the whole surface of hydrophilic–treated cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) plates. Observations revealed that the running cost of these methods is very low and they do not involve complicated techniques. Thereby suggesting that use of hydrophilic COC plates may contribute to improved and more accurate diagnosis and research of malaria.