DECEMBER 16, 2003
ISCA TECHNOLOGIES AWARDED U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CONTRACT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AVID DEVICE (AUTOMATED VISUAL IDENTIFICATION DEVICE): FIELD PORTABLE MONITORING SYSTEM FOR EFFECTIVE MOSQUITO MANAGEMENT

ISCA Technologies (Riverside, CA) has been awarded $120,000 from the U.S. Army SBIR Phase I program for the research and development of "The AVID (Automated Visual Identification Device): Field Portable Monitoring System For Effective Mosquito Management." Malaria is the most devastating human vector-borne disease: 40% of the world's population is at risk of contracting malaria, over 500 million show clinical symptoms, and nearly 2.5 million succumb each year to the disease. Malaria was nearly eradicated from several regions of the globe, but now it is resurging worldwide. In 1998 a global campaign to “Roll Back Malaria” was announced, with the joint forces of WHO, the World Bank and governments of developing and developed nations. The program aims to halve fatalities by 2010 and then again by 2015. (Binka 2000). Whether this goal will be achieved remains uncertain. Another arboviral disease, Dengue and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever has grown dramatically in recent decades (Gratz 1999) spreading from 9 to some 40 countries. Dengue now has a similar distribution as malaria. WHO estimates that there may be more than 50 million cases of dengue worldwide every year, with a fatality rate of about 5%.

The first line of defense against vector-borne diseases is vector control. Vector control requires constant monitoring of vector populations. Monitoring provides information about a vector's spatial and temporal distribution and is essential in establishing preventive measures against the pest. Monitoring is also important in directing control efforts and as such has shown its value in the eradication of populations of medically important insects

Mosquito vectors and the US Army: In order to assess the effectiveness of any control effort directed against any mosquito vectors, it is vital to accurately and precisely sample the vector population. Such determinations must be made before, during, and after vector control in order to determine effectiveness of the control methods used. Effective vector population sampling is necessary when attempting to predict disease outbreaks and determine when and where to apply control measures to prevent and suppress such outbreaks.

Human biting/landing counts: The correlation between human biting/landing counts and the proportion of infected mosquitoes are key parameters in vector control efforts for disease suppression. The human biting/landing counts are the most common sampling technique employed and data collected from this technique correlates nicely with the local vector population densities. Landing counts have the very strong advantage of being converted to estimates of true risk (entomological inoculation rate). It is generally agreed among the scientific community that human bait collections are the most representative and reliable measure of vector population densities. However, the ethical issue of placing humans at risk of contracting diseases that stem from vector-borne pathogens mitigates against such monitoring practices.

Monitoring traps: No mosquito monitoring trap exists today that correlates with human landing collections over a wide range of Aedes population levels, and provides the data necessary to calculate true risk. Although recent commercial traps on the market incorporate heat, carbon dioxide, and octenol, these traps are large, bulky, and require pressurized gas in their operation. Some of these traps also contain an electric grid that kills and destroys the mosquitoes rending them useless for identification. Fortunately, within the past six months ISCA Technologies, Inc. has disclosed a novel mosquito lure, which proves to be highly effective in attracting host-seeking Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus females. Initial laboratory data suggests that under controlled lab conditions, this lure/trap combination captures mosquitoes at a rate comparable to Human Landing and Biting Collections.

The overall goal of ISCA Technologies is to overcome the key bottleneck in mosquito trap data management, namely the processing of trap catches. We propose to develop a field device that preferentially attracts mosquitoes to a platform where a system will automatically tally mosquito activity and collect images for their identification. In Phase I, ISCA will research and develop the proof of concept for the semi-automated visual identification device (AVID); in so doing we will demonstrate the likelihood that an effective mosquito monitoring system for Aedes (aegypti) can be developed that meets the needs of the U.S. Army.

ABOUT THE U.S. ARMY SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM

The SBIR Program is a Congressionally-mandated program which was established in 1982 (with subsequent reauthorizations in 1986, 1992, and 2000 until 2008) to increase the participation of small businesses in federal research and development (R&D). Each participating government agency must reserve 2.5% of its extramural R & D budget for competitively selected SBIR awards to small businesses. The goal of the dual-use SBIR Program is to tap into the innovativeness and creativity of the small business community to help meet government R&D objectives. At the same time, these small companies develop technologies, products, and services which they can then commercialize through sales in the private sector or back to the government.
The Army participates with the Navy, Air Force, and six other defense agencies under the overall DoD SBIR Program; however, the Army program is autonomous in that it seeks to support Army-specific goals within the framework of the DoD SBIR Program. The Army's FY03 SBIR budget of $165 million will fund approximately 400 Phase I and 200 Phase II new starts.

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