I-Corps: Optical design and the development of high accuracy automated tick classification using computer vision

摘要 在过去的二十年里，美国蜱传疾病的发病率增加了一倍多。由于 由于缺乏有效的蜱传疾病疫苗，预防蜱叮咬仍然是主要的 减轻疾病的重点。蜱虫媒介监测-监测一个区域以了解蜱虫 物种组成，丰度和空间分布-是向公众提供 在高风险地区提供准确和最新的信息， 必要时进行病媒控制。Vectech是NIH SBIR第一阶段获奖者，寻求开发 第一个自动成像和识别系统， 找出美国排名前九的蜱虫媒介介绍了标准化光学设计方法， 计算机视觉系统的发展提供了几个优于传统视觉系统的优点。 螨学鉴定这个NIH I-Corps项目旨在提高对蜱虫的理解 美国的监控需求。拟议中的I-Corps团队将专注于商业 有机会改善蜱叮咬预防管理的临床决策， 加强向病媒控制组织和公众提供的公共卫生信息。的 由此产生的见解将被纳入Vectech的未来研究，目的是带来一个 商业产品推向市场。

Abstract The incidence of US tick-borne diseases has more than doubled in the last two decades. Due to lack of effective vaccines for tick-borne diseases, prevention of tick bites remains the primary focus of disease mitigation. Tick vector surveillance - monitoring an area to understand tick species composition, abundance, and spatial distribution - is key to providing the public with accurate and up-to-date information when they are in areas of high risk, and enabling precision vector control when necessary. Vectech is an NIH SBIR phase I awardee seeking to develop the first automated imaging and identification system capable of instantaneously and accurately identifying the top nine tick vectors in the US. The approach of standardized optical design and development of a computer vision system offers several advantages over conventional acarologist identification. This NIH I-Corps project seeks to improve understanding of tick surveillance needs in the US. The proposed I-Corps team will focus on the commercial opportunity to improve clinical decision making for administration of tick bite prophylaxis and enhancing public health information for vector control organizations and the general public. The resulting insights will be incorporated into Vectech’s future research with the aim of bringing a commercial product to market.