SBIR Phase I: Autonomous Sensor Network to Manage West Nile Virus Epidemics

这个小型企业创新研究计划（SBIR）项目将结合野外吸血雌蚊的自动化数据收集和处理，在诱捕器水平上，使用纳米级传感器检测和量化西尼罗河病毒（WNV），确定蚊子种类及其血粉的宿主来源。这个第一阶段的项目将展示制造wnv抗体功能化导电纳米传感器的可行性，该传感器将用于两个系列的产品。产品线1将包括非常便宜和强大的手持式西尼罗河病毒检测工具，用于实时诊断相关生物样本（血液、唾液、拭子和蚊子）。产品线2将包括独立的、自主/自动化的现场病原体检测单元，这些单元将被整合到蚊子采样设备中，该设备将在陷阱水平上对蚊子样本进行自主操作、制备和测试。这些自动化装置允许在无人看管的情况下处理大量现场样本，从而提高了病原体、病媒和流行病的检测能力，而不受地区可及性的影响。数据被传输到监控互联网数据管理系统，自动汇总、分析、生成报告并分发给感兴趣的客户。多路复用纳米感觉阵列将允许一次收集大量重要的流行病学信息，例如疾病病原体的存在，蚊子从其血液中获取的宿主的ID（哺乳动物，鸟类，更具体地说，牛，狗，人类，鸡，鸦等）。早期发现是预防流行病的唯一形式。该项目提出了一个颠覆性的概念，以填补目前缺乏快速有效数据收集技术的病媒管理的巨大空白。西尼罗河病毒检测仪器速度慢、价格昂贵、体积庞大，需要人为干预和实验室条件，需要大量耗材和能源，而且不适合无人看管的自主操作，导致只有很小一部分引入的病原体在疾病或流行病广泛传播之前被发现。病媒控制人员和流行病学家依赖耗时的人工蚊子病媒管理方法，这些方法往往来得太晚，无法预防流行病，而且需要昂贵的补救行动，例如在整个地区进行地毯式喷洒杀虫剂，这种方法效率低下，对生态有害，并有利于农药耐药性。最终，该团队将把纳米电子传感器集成到自主智能机器人设备中，该设备能够持续监测现场载体和污染物的存在，并将数据无线传输到中央集线器，为决策者提供现场情况的实时情报。如果成功，这将允许采取预防而不是危机或补救控制行动。这不仅对病媒和疾病管理有用，而且对国土安全、卫生保健、农业环境领域和食品安全市场的生物检测也有用，所有市场的保守估计为每年20亿美元。

This Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) project will combine automated data gathering and processing of blood-fed-female mosquitoes in the field, at the traps level, using nanoscale sensors to detect and quantify West-Nile-Virus (WNV), identify the mosquito species and the host source(s) of their blood meal(s). This Phase I project will demonstrate feasibility of fabrication of WNV-antibody-functionalized-conducting-nanosensors for use in two lines of products. Product-line-one will consist of very-inexpensive-and-robust hand-held WNV-detection-tool for real-time diagnosis of relevant biological samples (blood, saliva, swabs, and mosquitoes). Product-line-two will consist of self contained, autonomous/automated field worthy pathogen detection units to be incorporated into mosquito sampling devices which will provide autonomous manipulation, preparation, and testing of mosquito samples at trap level. These automated units permit the unattended processing of large number of field samples, thus increasing the capacity of pathogen, vector and epidemics detection independent of area accessibility. Data are transferred to Monitor Internet Data Management System, autonomously aggregated, analyzed, reports generated and distributed to interested clients. Multiplexing the nanosensory-array will allow for single pass collection of a host of important epidemiological information, such as presence of disease-agents, ID of the host from which the mosquitoes took their blood (mammals, birds, more specifically cattle, dogs, humans, chickens, corvide, etc...). Early detection is the only form to prevent epidemics. This project proposes a disruptive concept to fill an enormous gap in vector-management, which now lacks technologies for speedy and effective data collection. WNV-detection-instruments are slow, expensive, bulky, require human interference and laboratory conditions with plenty of consumables and energy, and not amenable to unattended autonomous operation, resulting in only a very small portion of introduced pathogens actually being detected before disease or epidemics become widespread. Vector-control personnel and epidemiologists rely on time-consuming, manual mosquito vector management methods that often come too-late-to-prevent epidemics and require expensive remedial actions, such as blanket spraying of insecticides on entire regions, which is inefficient, ecologically harmful and conducive to pesticide resistance. Ultimately the team will integrate the resulting nanoelectronic-sensors into autonomous-smart-robotic-devices capable of continuously monitor for the presence of vectors and contaminants in-field and wirelessly transfer data to a centralized hub, providing decision-makers with real-time intelligence of field conditions. If successful this will allow preventative rather than crisis or remedial control actions. This will be useful not only for vector and disease management but also for bio-detection in the homeland security, health care, agro-environmental field and food safety markets, all markets conservatively evaluated at $2Bi/yr.