TechConnect Innovator Spotlight:
|
SmartTrap, Sandia National Laboratories
TECHNOLOGY SUMMARY
The Smart Trap is a simple yet rugged battery-operated device that autonomously detects and reports diseases carried by mosquitoes. When a specimen feeds on the Smart Trap’s sugar bait component, it leaves behind traces of saliva, which are then assayed for transmissible amounts of pathogen.
Primary Application Area: Medical Devices
Technology Development Status: Prototype
TECHNOLOGY DETAILS:
The Smart Trap is a simple yet rugged battery-operated device that autonomously detects and reports diseases carried by mosquitoes. When a specimen feeds on the Smart Trap's sugar bait component, it leaves behind traces of saliva, which are then assayed for transmissible amounts of pathogen. The Smart Trap transmits data to a cloud-based monitoring system via cellular networks, thus eliminating the need for the manual and labor-intensive collection, sorting, and homogenization of specimens in laboratories. The devices' s assay reagents are stored in dry form and are deployed with the dispersal of the bait fluid. As a result, the Smart Trap is capable of independent surveillance for weeks at a time.
The Smart Trap detects viral RNA using a sensitive isothermal nucleic acid amplification technique. Developed at Sandia, QUASR yields exceptionally bright, target-specific fluorescent endpoint signals with isothermal nucleic acid tests. These endpoint signals can be detected with a simple LED, and can be viualized by eye or with color cameras (e.g. cell phone cameras). The QUASR technique also greatly reduces the occurrence of false-positive detection. QUASR has applications to clinical diagnostics as well, and has been demonstrated to detect < 1000 copies of Ebola virus RNA.
FIGURES OF MERIT:
Value Proposition: The Smart Trap comprises relatively simple components, which make it a cost-effective and easy-to-manufacture device. Each unit is projected to cost US $500, with the supplies needed for one month's field deployment estimated at US $100.
The data that Smart Traps collect and transmit daily are evaluated concurrently with physical data and models of vector abundance to predict the risk of disease transmission. Studying the arboviruses in this manner may help researchers track and predict the emergence of re-emergence of vector-borne epidemics. Additionally, wireless diagnostics can simplify the logistics of sample transport and the communication of results in areas with poor infrastructure.
SHOWCASE SUMMARY
Organization Type: Academic/Gov Lab