LymeShield System
Fighting Lyme Disease at the Source
Lyme disease is a debilitating condition suffered by over 376,000 people in the US each year. Although people contract the disease from the tick, the ticks themselves contract the disease from small mammals like the white-footed mouse.
There is currently no vaccine available to prevent Lyme in humans. US Biologic has taken a different approach by developing an oral Lyme vaccine pellet. Less Lyme disease in mice means less ticks that can infect humans from Lyme disease. For the vaccine to be most effective, each generation of mouse offspring must receive a primary dose of the vaccine followed by boosters. US Biologic asked HatchPoint to develop a system that would deliver these doses.
Our solution was the LymeShield® System, a rugged feeder that protects the vaccine pellets from the elements and non-target animals. It allows access to the vaccine pellets according to a programmable schedule. Bluetooth allows access to the station for both control of vaccine distribution as well as access to feeding activity within the station. We also worked with US Biologic to patent the system.
HatchPoint managed all aspects of development including mechanical and electronics design, firmware development, and prototyping. We also managed the production of a 500 unit short run and build production programming and test rigs.
These units have been validated in field trials with successful results.