Field Validation of a Personal Sensor for Ultrafine PM in Asthmatic Children

描述(由申请人提供)：交通相关空气污染(TRAP)对人类健康影响的流行病学研究经常受到替代、环境或模拟暴露的限制。个人监测的必要性在易受影响的人群中显而易见，特别是儿童，他们除了在家里外，还在学校和车辆上花费了大量时间。此外，儿童可能有高水平的体力活动，并且靠近颗粒源，导致暴露水平高于固定采样点记录的水平。为了解决目前在表征暴露方面的局限性，开发了一种能够以高时空分辨率测量超细颗粒(UFP)暴露的个人可穿戴传感器，并在实验室环境中进行了验证。虽然个人传感器被开发成足够小、坚固和简单，以便在流行病学研究中广泛使用，但它还没有在实验室外得到验证或在现场使用。因此，这项应用的目标是在现场验证这种高度创新的传感器，并在学校和社区正在进行的陷阱暴露流行病学研究中对该传感器进行现场测试。这项研究将受益于工程师和流行病学家的合作，生产一种能够用于流行病学研究的UFP个人传感器。为了实现研究目标，开发的传感器将在现场针对当前的非个人黄金标准仪器进行验证。传感器验证后，将在目前正在进行的流行病学研究--辛辛那提反空转运动(CAIC)研究的背景下对个人传感器进行现场测试。参加CAIC的儿童参加辛辛那提公立学校的四所学校之一，这些学校不同程度地暴露在附近道路或校车上的陷阱中。此外，CAIC参与者患有哮喘，并已完成初步健康评估。CAIC的研究目前通过使用学校和社区环境空气监测来评估接触诱捕剂的情况。因此，CAIC的研究是评估个人监测的益处，并确定所开发的传感器在市中心哮喘儿童人群中的可接受性和可用性的理想方法。现场测试的结果将提供反馈，以便改进传感器，为在流行病学研究中广泛使用做准备。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Epidemiologic studies of the impact of traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) on human health are frequently limited by the use of surrogate, ambient, or modeled exposure. The need for personal monitoring is evident in susceptible subpopulations, particularly children, who spend significant time at schools and in vehicles, in addition to their homes. Further, children may have high levels of physical activity and be in close proximity to particulate sources that result in higher levels of exposure than those recorded at stationary sampling sites. In order to address current limitations in characterizing exposure, a personal and wearable sensor capable of measuring, with high spatiotemporal resolution, exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) has been developed and validated in laboratory settings. Though the personal sensor was developed to be sufficiently small, rugged, and straightforward to allow its widespread use in epidemiologic studies, it has not been validated outside the laboratory or utilized in the field. Therefore, the objectives of this application are to validate this highly innovative sensor in the field and conduct a field test of the sensor in an ongoing epidemiologic study of TRAP exposure at schools and communities. This study will benefit from the collaboration of engineers and epidemiologists to produce a personal sensor for UFP capable of being utilized in epidemiologic studies. In order to achieve the study objectives, the developed sensor will be validated in the field against current, non- personal, gold-standard instruments. Following the validation of the sensor, a field test of the personal sensor will be conducted within the context of a currently ongoing epidemiologic study, the Cincinnati Anti-Idling Campaign (CAIC) study. Children enrolled in the CAIC attend one of four participating Cincinnati Public Schools with varying exposure to TRAP from nearby roads or school buses. In addition, CAIC participants are asthmatic and have completed an initial health assessment. Exposure to TRAP is currently assessed in the CAIC study through the use of school and community ambient air monitoring. Thus, the CAIC study is ideal to assess the benefit of personal monitoring and to determine the acceptability and usability of the developed sensor in a population of inner-city asthmatic children. The results of the field test will provide feedback in order to modify the sensor in preparation for wide-spread use in epidemiologic studies.