Ultrafine Particulate Monitor for Personal Exposure Assessment

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Exposure to particulate air pollutants is associated with cardiovascular disease, asthma, lung cancer, and other illnesses. In the United States the CDC estimates that asthma costs $20 billion annually in medical care, lost workdays, and early deaths. However, due to the complexity of the environmental exposure mechanisms, there remains a degree of uncertainty concerning disease etiology. Wearable and highly-sensitive particulate sensors could help further elucidate the linkages between disease and particulate exposure. In the Small Business Innovation Research Phase 2 project, Aerodyne Microsystems Inc. (AMI) is investigating the feasibility of a miniaturized, battery-powered, and inexpensive sensor for real-time monitoring of exposure to airborne particulate matter (PM) from 2.5 um to ultrafine. The system employs the thermophoretic deposition of particulates from a sample air stream onto a thin-film bulk acoustic wave resonator (FBAR) and determines the PM mass deposited by measuring the frequency shift of oscillation. Incorporation of micromachined-electromechanical-system (MEMS) technologies allows unprecedented reduction in power consumption, cost, sample flow rate, and size. The successful outcome of the project would culminate in a low-cost analytical instrument that provides real-time mass concentration of particles in a compact, wearable form factor. The research plan covered in this diversity supplement will guide AMI’s work towards a prototype commercial monitor capable of aerosol size fractionization. The project will further extend Mohammadreza (Reza) Khani’s, the project supplementee, experience in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations geared towards device development related to human health. The career development plan described in this project will foster Reza’s growth in many areas related to becoming a leading entrepreneur in small businesses.