Global Health Medical Device Compendium/Passive Solar Mosquito Trap

Medical device data
Health topic	Malaria
Health classification	Preventative

Project data
Location	Ohio, United States
Made	No
Replicated	No
OKH Manifest	Download

Problem being addressed

Mosquitoes spread malaria. Personal protection typically involves attempting to keep mosquitoes away from your person or drawing them to a trap where they are killed.

Detailed description of the solution

During the day, paraffin wax absorbs solar energy as it melts. At night, the container is brought inside where the heat is released at roughly the same temperature of the human body temperature as the wax solidifies. This heat combined with an attractant derived from human sweat collected from a sweat band worn through the day mimics a sleeping body. Mosquitoes are attracted to the device and are trapped in the "trap".

Designed by

Design: This device was invented by Tom Kruer and is partnered with AltaSim Technologies for clinical trials.
Manufacturer location: Columbus, Ohio, United States

When and where it was tested/implemented

Initial testing was scheduled for late 2009 and early to mid 2010.

References

Internally generated reports

"AltaSim Technologies Joins the Global Fight Against Malaria - COMSOL." Multiphysics Modeling and Simulation Software - COMSOL. Web. 19 Apr. 2011. Link available here.

Externally generated reports

Schwartz, Ariel. "Engineer Uses Solar Energy, Wax, and Human Sweat to Fight Malaria – CleanTechnica: Cleantech Innovation News and Views." CleanTechnica: Cleantech Innovation News and Views. 31 Jan. 2009. Web. 19 Apr. 2011. Link available here.

Page data
SDG	SDG03 Good health and well-being, SDG09 Industry innovation and infrastructure
Authors	Lonny Grafman, Chris Waterguy, Emilio, Kathleen Sienko, Amir Sabet Sarvestani
License	CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language	English (en)
Related	0 subpages, 1 pages link here
Redirects	Passive Solar Mosquito Trap
Views	134 page views (analytics)
Created	February 15, 2012 by Evashiu
Last edit	September 9, 2026 by Felipe Schenone
Cite as	Evashiu (2012–2026). "Global Health Medical Device Compendium/Passive Solar Mosquito Trap". Appropedia. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
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