A wireless multi-functional sensor badge for epidemiological studies

描述(由申请人提供)：了解许多慢性疾病的环境因素是预防这些疾病的关键和必要的一步。要实现这一目标，需要能够准确测量各种环境毒物的新工具。由于个体的遗传易感性和环境暴露的差异很大，理想的工具必须是可穿戴的，这样它才能实时测量每个人的呼吸区内的有毒物质。已经开发了几种可穿戴设备来检测某些化学物质或颗粒物，预计它们将对流行病学研究做出贡献。然而，大多数流行病学研究需要实时评估多个分析物的能力，以便准确地确定毒物的来源，并有效地确定是特定分析物还是一组分析物导致一种疾病。其他人和我们的初步研究表明，要求受试者，特别是儿童，在较长一段时间内佩戴多种不同的设备面临几个挑战。首先，每个孩子都需要大量的培训资源才能正确操作，每个研究人员都需要有效地维护多个设备。其次，多个设备的总重量、大小和噪音对孩子来说将是一个不受欢迎的负担。第三，尽管每种设备都可能不贵，但多台设备的总成本可能会使大规模人口研究的成本高得令人望而却步。最后，不同的设备具有不同的采样率、内部时钟以及数据收集频率和格式；来自这些设备的数据的正确解释和同步可能非常复杂，尤其是在大型队列设置中部署它们时。在本项目中，将利用PIS实验室最近开发的几项创新技术开发一种集成的多功能传感器，用于实时测量个人暴露。该传感器可以同时检测多种重要分析物，包括二氧化氮、臭氧、一氧化碳、甲醛和颗粒物。之所以选择这些分析物，是因为它们对研究室外和室内空气污染对健康的影响都很重要。除了检测多个分析物的能力外，该传感器还具有嵌入式无线芯片，可以与手机通信，并使用GPS和加速度计提供额外的位置和身体活动信息。最后，传感器将被微型化到可佩戴的徽章大小。该团队将与业界合作，确保高质量和低成本的生产。传感器开发小组和流行病学家将合作测试和验证该设备。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Understanding environmental factors in many chronic diseases is a critical and necessary step towards the prevention of these diseases. Reaching the goal requires new tools that can accurately measure various environmental toxicants. Due to large variations in the individuals' genetic susceptibility and environmental exposure, an ideal tool must be wearable so that it can measure the toxicants in real time and within each individual's breathing zone. Several wearable devices have been developed to detect certain chemicals, or particulate matter, and they are expected to contribute to epidemiological studies. However, most epidemiological studies require a capability of assessing multiple analytes in real-time in order to accurately pin down the source of toxicants and efficiently determine if a particular analyte or a group of analytes are responsible for a disease. Pilot studies by others and us revealed that asking a subject, especially a child, to wear multiple different devices for an extended period of time faces several challenges. First, it will take substantial training resources for each child to correctly operate and for each researcher to efficiently maintain multiple devices. Second, the total weight, size and noise of multiple devices will be an unwelcome burden for a child. Third, even though each device could be inexpensive, the total cost of multiple devices can make large-scale population studies cost prohibitive. Finally, different devices have different sampling rates, internal clocks, and data collection frequencies and formats; correct interpretation and synchronization of data from these devices may be prohibitively complicated, especially when deploying them in large cohort settings. In the present project, an integrated multifunctional sensor will be developed using several innovations recently developed in the PIs' labs for real-time measurement of personal exposures. The sensor can simultaneously detect multiple important analytes, including nitric dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and particulate matter. These analytes are selected because they are important for studying health effects of both outdoor and indoor air pollution. In addition to the capability of detecting multiple analytes, the sensor has an embedded wireless chip that can communicate with cell phones and uses GPS and accelerometer to provide additional location and physical activity information. Finally the sensor will be miniaturized to a wearable badge size. The team will collaborate with industry to ensure quality and low cost production. The sensor development group and the epidemiologists will work together to test and validate the device.