STAMFORD — Antonia Kolb’s app is buggy by design.
Third graders at King’s School in Stanford created an online application that allows users to scan and identify ticks and learn about tick-related risks.
Korb, which lives in the wooded areas of New Canaan, has a long and close history with ticks. Growing up, she was told to check her blood frequently for parasites and felt a deep fear of them.
Then, several years ago, Kolb began experiencing worrisome symptoms such as fainting and dizziness. He said he was taken to the hospital many times, which interfered with his studies and classroom experience.
After a year of misdiagnosis, she was eventually diagnosed with Babesia and Bartonella, two rare and potentially life-threatening tick-borne diseases.
A delay in finding the cause of her symptoms prompted Kolb to create an app to raise awareness of the risks associated with ticks and better identify different species of parasites. She called it Detickt It.
The app caught the eye of Congressman Jim Hymes, who was elected as the winner of the Congressional App Challenge for the constituencies represented by Himes, stretching from Greenwich to Bridgeport. Kolb was one of her 9,000 students nationwide who signed up for the contest, an initiative of the US House of Representatives. Members of Congress called on middle and high school students from their districts to apply, and each participating delegate chose the winning app for their area.
But Kolb didn’t create the app with the Congressional App Challenge in mind. In fact, she published it in May 2022, before the contest even opened, motivated by her troublesome medical experience.
In a comment posted on the Congress App Challenge website, Kolb said, “I am shocked at the lack of awareness some healthcare providers have shown for tick-borne diseases and ticks in general.” has driven me to create a method to assess the risk posed by ticks and to increase awareness of tick-borne diseases.Tick tests are expensive and take weeks, thus reducing the diagnosis and prognosis of tick-borne diseases. We wanted to find a way to facilitate it, which is important for time-sensitive diseases.”
It took about a year to complete the app, using data from the Tick Institute in Pennsylvania and the “convolutional neural networks” commonly used in image processing and recognition created by Kolb.
She says the app can identify different ticks with an accuracy of about 90%. Also, based on the user’s location, they are given a tick risk and can seek medical help if bitten.
“I think this is a very useful tool. I also think it will raise awareness about tick-borne diseases. I feel like we are starting to understand tick-borne diseases now.
The app won first place in the Data Science and Bioinformatics category at the Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair, Kolb won the Lockheed Martin High School Innovator Award, and Yale Club of Hartford’s Eli Whitney Award, among others. has also won awards.
Kolb, 17, said she first heard about the congressional complaint while walking her Shih Tzu, Odie. She met someone who had the same type of dog and the two started a conversation about ticks. At the time, Kolb had already created an app, and her dog-walking buddies encouraged her to enter the contest.
Odie has been a key part of the process. Not only does Kolb use her app to get ticks that can be analyzed, but he’s also the literal poster child for the application, as a photo of him in the air is used in promotional materials for his tool online. .
In a written statement, Himes said he was impressed with Kolb’s work.
“Among many powerful proposals, Detict It stands out, providing an important tool for more effective detection, diagnosis and treatment of tick-related diseases,” he wrote.
Winners of this challenge, including Kolb, will be invited to Washington, DC to demo their apps to delegates at the annual #HouseOfCode festival in April.
“I started this project so I didn’t quite know where it was going, so I feel honored to receive this Congressional Award,” Kolb said. app — I think it’s a great opportunity. ”
