ATLANTA, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers developed a sensor system that continually monitors air around people prone to asthma attacks to identify causes of the respiratory illness.
"We are investigating whether we can go back after an asthma attack and see what was going on environmentally when the attack started," said Charlene Bayer, a Georgia Tech Research Institute principal scientist.
The new sensors, worn in the pockets of a vest, measure airborne formaldehyde, carbon dioxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, temperature, relative humidity and total volatile organic compounds. Some of the organic compounds are emitted as gases from products such as paints, cleaning supplies, pesticide formulations, building materials and furnishings, office equipment and craft materials.
Bayer hopes to develop a smaller, more sensitive sensor system, test the current vest in population studies of asthmatic children and develop software to process data as it is collected.
"With this system we can determine what children are exposed to at home, at school and outside where they play," said Bayer. "Chances are there are some overreaching compounds that seem to trigger asthma attacks in more children."
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