A Wireless, Passive Dosimeter for Tracking Mercury Vapor Exposure

描述（由申请人提供）： 提出了一种基于磁弹性传感器的无线被动剂量计，用于跟踪个人暴露于有毒气体化学品（如汞蒸气）的情况。在磁场的激励下，磁致弹性传感器振动，产生可以用一组磁线圈远程检测的二次磁通量。通过施加化学敏感涂层来实现对特定化学品的检测，该化学敏感涂层由于化学品的选择性吸收而导致传感器的谐振行为（谐振频率）的偏移。该传感器安装在使用者佩戴的徽章式剂量计中，通过安装在门口的检测装置自动远程监测各种化学品的暴露情况。在该项目中，镀金传感器用于监测汞蒸气，因为汞与镀金层反应形成汞合金，从而改变涂层的质量和弹性，并触发传感器共振行为的转变。 虽然汞蒸气是该项目的重点，但这项工作的最终目标是开发一种传感器/剂量计技术，以被动和远程跟踪各种有害化学品的接触水平。该项目的具体目标包括{1}制造汞敏感涂层和传感器阵列组件，{2}开发传感器检测系统和处理传感器响应的算法，以及{3}演示剂量计技术在实际应用中的有效性。 该项目完成后，将通过监测个人接触汞蒸气的水平，大大提高制造厂、研究实验室、医疗设施和发电厂等危险环境中工人的安全。汞蒸气监测是至关重要的，因为长期暴露于这种重金属已被链接到多种疾病，包括疯帽综合征，过敏性皮炎，出生缺陷，神经系统损伤等，目前的技术，虽然能够评估汞暴露水平，一般不方便使用，有一个漫长的周转时间，或过于昂贵，广泛应用。这里提出了一种跟踪化学品暴露的新方法，其中用户只需要佩戴徽章，并且当他/她通过检测器时，他/她的化学品暴露水平被自动确定。这项新技术将减少在保护工人健康方面的人为错误，因为所有测量都将自动进行（无需将剂量计送到实验室进行分析）。此外，所提出的技术可以扩展为同时监测多种化学品，如乙醛，砷化氢，苯甲醛，甲醛，异丁醛，光气和膦，通过开发适当的化学响应材料的传感器。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A wireless, passive dosimeter based on a magnetoelastic sensor is proposed for tracking personal exposure to toxic gaseous chemicals such as mercury vapor. Under the excitation of a magnetic field, the magnetoelastic sensor vibrates, generating a secondary magnetic flux that can be remotely detected with a set of magnetic coils. Detection of a particular chemical is achieved by applying a chemical-sensitive coating that causes a shift in the sensor's resonance behavior (resonant frequency) due to the selective absorption of the chemical. The sensor is incorporated into a badge-like dosimeter worn by the user, and exposure to various chemicals is automatically and remotely monitored through a detection device installed at a doorway. In this project, a gold-coated sensor is used to monitor mercury vapor since mercury reacts to the gold coating to form an amalgam, which changes the mass and elasticity of the coating and triggers a shift in the sensor's resonance behavior. Although mercury vapor is the focus of this project, the ultimate goal of this work is to develop a sensor/dosimeter technology to passively and remotely track the exposure levels of various harmful chemicals. The specific aims of this project include {1} fabrication of the mercury-sensitive coating and sensor array assembly, {2} development of the sensor detection system and algorithms to process sensor response, and {3} demonstration of the efficacy of the dosimeter technology for real-world applications. Upon completion, this project will greatly improve the safety of workers in hazardous environments such as manufacturing plants, research labs, medical facilities, and power plants by monitoring the level of personal exposure to mercury vapor. Mercury vapor monitoring is critical since long-term exposure to this heavy metal has been linked to multiple illnesses including mad hatter syndrome, sensitization dermatitis, birth defects, nervous system damage, etc. Current technologies, although capable of assessing mercury exposure levels, are generally inconvenient to use, have a long turnaround time, or are too expensive to widely apply. Proposed here is a new way of tracking chemical exposure, where the user just needs to wear a badge and his/her chemical exposure levels are automatically determined when he/she passes through a detector. This new technique will reduce human error in safeguarding the worker's health since all measurements will be conducted automatically (no need to send the dosimeter to a lab for analysis). In addition, the proposed technology can be extended for simultaneously monitoring multiple chemicals such as acetaldehyde, arsine, benzaldehyde, formaldehyde, isobutyraldehyde, phosgene and phosphine by developing the appropriate chemical-responsive materials for the sensor.