A new project that looks into the connection between infant footprints and vaccination records could improve vaccination programs in the developing world has received funding from Grand Challenges Explorations initiative.

The project dubbed "Happy Feet" by researchers will allow health workers to access the vaccination histories of children by scanning or photographing their footprints to replace the immunization cards that can be easily lost or replaced.

"Biometrics for very small children is notoriously difficult because infants grow, and they grow fast," said Dr. Stephen Davis from the RMIT University.

"We have ideas about how to overcome this, and we think the footprint is the ideal biometric to work with. We have nicknamed our study 'Happy Feet' and we are very excited to be funded," he said.

Positively identifying an infant or child is essential for looking up the child's vaccination history. If doctors and other health care workers can identify the immune status of a child it would determine if the vaccine is actually working for the target population.

Dr. Davis and Professor Kathy Horadam will collaborate with Professor Jodie McVernon, an associate professor with the University of Melbourne. Dr. Davis is a theoretical epidemiologist with 10 years of research experience in modeling the dynamics and control of infectious disease systems in Africa, Central Asia and North America.

The Happy Feet project is one of the 110 Grand Challenges Explorations grants announced by the foundation. The initiative is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It supports projects that tackle global health issues where solutions do not exist. Since the program's launch in 2008 it has granted funding to nearly 500 researchers from more than 40 countries. Initial grants of $100,000 are awarded two times a year. Successful projects can receive follow-up grants of $1 million.

"We believe in the power of innovation - that a single bold idea can pioneer solutions to our greatest health and development challenges," said Chris Wilson, Director of Global Health Discovery for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

"Grand Challenges Explorations seeks to identify and fund these new ideas wherever they come from, allowing scientists, innovators and entrepreneurs to pursue the kinds of creative ideas and novel approaches that could help to accelerate the end of polio, cure HIV infection or improve sanitation."