Product/Service Development

This wearable patient sensor utilizes state-of-the-art advances in wearable technologies and analytics. This sensor goes on like a band-aid and is both disposable and Bluetooth-enabled; it will continue to measure key vital signs including heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, and oxygen saturation of Ebola patients in ETUs and those suspected to be infected. This tool allows for remote monitoring, improved patient care and enhanced health care worker safety.

Development and testing of a novel microfluidic platform - VectorChip - that enables the large-scale autonomous collection of individual saliva droplets originating from single mosquito bites that can be used to identify the mosquito and pathogen species, including a broad range of human biting mosquitoes (Anopheles, Aedes, Culex) and numerous pathogens (including Zika, Dengue and Malaria).

Development of a novel low-cost, cloud connected system of smart ovitraps that will provide real-time mosquito surveillance data to health administrators, communities, and individuals. This proposed mosquito surveillance allows for outbreak modeling, targeted resource allocation/redirection, and community-driven interventions.

Development and testing of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), a non-destructive technique that can be used to measure multiple characteristics of a mosquito sample with a single, 3-second reading. This reading could then be used to identify unique signatures of arbovirus in mosquitoes to help with identification of hotspots and rapid management.

Development of an inexpensive, intelligent trap that attracts and captures adult Ae. aegypti mosquitoes, automatically classifies captured mosquitoes by species and sex and provides counts of these insects to connected mobile devices.

Identify the specific components of human scent that are actively perceived by olfactory centers in the Ae. aegypti brain and drive mosquito attraction towards humans to develop a powerful chemical lure.

Large-scale deployment of mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia, a naturally occurring bacteria proven to block the transmission of dengue fever and Zika virus from mosquitoes to humans.

Field test a multi-pronged Wolbachia-based strategy to effectively control Zika: the release of Wolbachia-infected males to suppress the population (up to local eradication), followed by seeding of Wolbachia-infected females to establish a viral resistant population. Once the resistant population grows to a certain density, males carrying a second Wolbachia strain will be released to further suppress the population.

Development of Chromobaterium Csp_P as a cost-effective, environmentally-friendly and logistically simple mosquito control biopesticide. The unique properties of Chromobaterium Csp_P, which can kill larvae and adults of all mosquito vectors, and block pathogen infection of mosquitoes, renders it a highly potent weapon against current and future mosquito-borne diseases.

Field evaluation of yeast interfering RNA larvicides that kill nearly 100% of A. aegypti larvae in laboratory assays. The interfering RNA molecules identified represent a novel class of larvicides with untapped potential for biorational and sustainable mosquito control.