Mosquito-borne disease
Mosquito-borne diseases or mosquito-borne illnesses are diseases caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites transmitted by mosquitoes. They can transmit disease without being affected themselves. Nearly 700 million people get a mosquito-borne illness each year resulting in over one million deaths.
Mosquito laser
The information gathered by the non-lethal laser can be used to determine the type of insect, and even its gender because wing beat patterns are unique to each species and gender. This is important in preventing malaria because only female mosquitoes bite humans. Also, only mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles carry the malaria-causing parasite of the genus plasmodium. All of these determining calculations are done using a custom image processing board using software written specifically for this application. Once the software confirms that the insect is of the targeted species and gender, a safety check makes sure that nothing is in the way of the laser and the mosquito. Once this safety check is completed, the lethal laser is given permission to shoot.