VectorWEB and VectorEYES – A System for Insect Surveillance and Tracking that Provides Actionable Insect Population Data to Public Health Administrators

Unmet Need
Currently, mosquito surveillance methods are costly in terms of human resources and not easily scalable. The invention is a low-cost solution that provides real-time mosquito surveillance data to health administrators, communities and individuals.

Technology Overview
The invention consists of two parts: VectorEyes; and VectorWeb.  VectorEYES, which are existing, evidence-based, ovitraps with one simple modification: the addition of low-cost, reprogrammed, camera-phone technology, which converts ovitraps into cloud connected surveillance sensors that transmit images of inside the trap to a central server using low bandwidth cellular phone networks so that mosquitoes can be identified and counted. VectorWEB is a system where data provided by multiple, field deployed, VectorEYES will be processed and displayed using a multi-tiered software ecosystem that allows health systems and individuals to view mapped vector densities in real time at a high resolution. Additionally, media, communities, and individuals will be able to receive SMS or app-based alerts of vector density and related risks to inform behavior, similar to how a weather forecast can influence how one approaches their day. The figure below shows a schematic of VectorWEB. Our team has developed preliminary prototypes and demonstrated the the technical feasibility of all components of this system.

Stage of Development
Prototype 

Publications
N/A

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