Validation of a Robotic Surrogate for Measurement of Early Childhood Personal Exp

描述(由申请人提供)：该研究建议验证一种机器人替代品--幼儿可吸入颗粒物环境机器人(Piper)采样器--用于收集研究人群中颗粒物(PM)的个人暴露，该人群太年轻，无法通过现有方法准确地收集个人暴露。接触和剂量估算对于了解与环境有关的儿童疾病的病因学至关重要。悬浮PM的行为表明，在家中进行的固定一般面积测量可能低估了幼儿的这些暴露。此外，PM暴露的峰值水平对于了解儿童早期疾病(如哮喘)的起源可能很重要。不幸的是，采样设备的大小和重量限制或排除了使用PM直接测量非常年幼的儿童，如婴幼儿(6至36个月)的暴露量。幼儿可吸入颗粒物环境机器人(Piper Mk IV)是在过去5年中开发的，旨在为太小而无法通过传统个人采样方法测量的儿童提供一种替代方法，以确定他们个人对PM的暴露。Piper提供了一个移动自主平台，可以在上面安装个人采样设备。Piper已经被编程为再现孩子在地板上玩耍时的运动模式，就像孩子扰乱和重新悬浮已落下的室内灰尘一样。Piper Mk IV是五年多开发和测试的结果，并在参与NIEHS资助的(R01-ES014717)研究的50多个家庭的测试中证明了其可靠性。一项使用机器人代理(Piper)的替代个人采样方法对幼儿暴露于PM的有效性研究被提出。这项研究将通过在Piper上安装相同的采样系统来进行，并与100名在家中玩耍的儿童(50名男孩和50名女孩)进行对比。年龄在24个月到36个月之间的儿童将从新泽西州中部现有的Piper哮喘研究和参与该研究的儿科诊所的参与者中招募。这项验证性研究的目的是为研究人员提供一种新的、新颖的工具来表征幼儿对环境污染物的暴露。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The study proposes to validate a robotic surrogate - the Pre-toddler Inhalable Particulate Environmental Robotic (PIPER) sampler - for collecting personal exposures of particulate matter (PM) in a study population which is too young to have personal exposure collected accurately by existing methodologies. Exposure and dose estimation are essential to understanding the etiology of environmentally linked childhood diseases. The behavior of resuspended PM suggests that stationary general area measurements taken in homes may underestimate these exposures in young children. Additionally, peak levels of PM exposure may be important in understanding the origins of early childhood conditions such as asthma. Unfortunately the size and weight of sampling equipment limit or preclude their use for PM direct measurements of exposures in very young children, such as infants and toddlers (ages >6 to 36 months). The Pre-toddler Inhalable Particulate Environmental Robotic (PIPER Mk IV) has been developed over the last 5 years to provide a surrogate method to ascertain personal exposures to PM for children too young to have exposure measured by conventional personal sampling methodologies. PIPER provides a mobile autonomous platform on which to mount personal sampling devices. PIPER has been programmed to reproduce the pattern of a child's movement while at play on the floor, and as would a child disturbs and resuspends settled housedust. The PIPER Mk IV is the result of over 5 years of development and testing and has proven its reliability in tests in over 50 homes participating in an NIEHS funded (R01-ES014717) study. A validation study of an alternate personal sampling methodology using a robotic surrogate (PIPER) for young children's exposure to PM is proposed. The study will be carried out by mounting identical sampling systems on PIPER in side-by- side comparison with 100 children (50 boys and 50 girls) at play in their own homes. Children between >24 and 36 months of age will be recruited from participants of the existing PIPER Asthma Study and the pediatric practices participating in that study in central New Jersey. The goal of this validation study is to provide researchers with a new and novel tool for characterizing young children's exposure to environmental contaminants.