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

这个小企业创新研究计划（SBIR）项目将结合联合收割机自动化数据收集和处理的吸血雌蚊在外地，在陷阱的水平，使用纳米传感器检测和量化西尼罗河病毒（WNV），确定蚊子的物种和宿主来源（S）的血液餐（S）。该第一阶段项目将证明制造WNV抗体功能化导电纳米传感器用于两条产品线的可行性。产品线一将包括非常便宜和强大的手持式WNV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）。第二条产品线将包括独立的、自主/自动化的适合现场使用的病原体检测装置，这些装置将被纳入蚊子采样装置中，这些蚊子采样装置将在诱捕器水平上提供蚊子样本的自主操作、制备和测试。这些自动化设备可在无人看管的情况下处理大量实地样本，从而提高了病原体、病媒和流行病的检测能力，而不受区域可达性的限制。数据传输到Monitor Internet数据管理系统，自主汇总，分析，生成报告并分发给感兴趣的客户。纳米传感器阵列的多路复用将允许单次收集大量重要的流行病学信息，例如病原体的存在、蚊子从中采血的宿主的ID（哺乳动物、鸟类，更具体地说是牛、狗、人、鸡、乌鸦等）。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方面的巨大空白。WNV检测仪器是缓慢的、昂贵的、笨重的，需要人为干预和具有大量消耗品和能量的实验室条件，并且不适于无人值守的自主操作，导致在疾病或流行病变得广泛之前实际上仅检测到非常小部分的引入的病原体。病媒控制人员和流行病学家依靠耗时的人工蚊媒管理方法，这些方法往往为时已晚，无法预防流行病，而且需要采取昂贵的补救行动，例如在整个地区全面喷洒杀虫剂，这种方法效率低下，对生态有害，并导致产生抗药性。最终，该团队将把由此产生的纳米电子传感器集成到智能机器人设备中，能够持续监测现场是否存在病媒和污染物，并将数据无线传输到中央枢纽，为决策者提供现场条件的实时情报。如果成功，这将允许预防性而不是危机或补救性控制行动。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2Bi美元/年。

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.