DETICKT IT wins Rep. James “Jim” Himes’ 2022 Congressional App Challenge in Connecticut’s Fourth District

When asked what inspired the creation of DETICKT IT, the student said, ”Living in a heavily-wooded area in Connecticut, ticks are very common throughout the area. Growing up, I was always told to check myself for ticks, but I did not know the danger of ticks and the prevalence of tick-borne diseases (TBDs). Last year, I was diagnosed with a rare, life-threatening tick-borne infection after a year of misdiagnoses. I was shocked by the lack of awareness that some medical providers exhibited for tick-borne infections and ticks in general. This inspired me to create a way to assess the risk posed by ticks and to raise awareness of tick-borne diseases. I wanted to find a way to expedite the diagnosis and prognosis of tick-borne diseases since tick tests are expensive and take weeks to process, which is critical for time-sensitive diseases. I was amazed by the lack of available surveillance data on tick-borne illness incidence rates in the USA. Nevertheless, I took my convolutional neural network for tick identification to the next level and created an app using Swift for native iOS app development. I entered my app at the Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair (CSEF) and won 1st place in the Data Science and Bioinformatics category. After receiving positive feedback from peers, professionals, and fellow TBD patients, I decided to publish DETICKT IT on the App Store. I have received 575 downloads and continue to receive testimonials on the value of DETICKT IT and the impact it has made.”