Bracelet for monitoring exposure to dust and Covid-19

Scientists have successfully created a wrist-worn air pollution sampling device called Fresh Air. They are also exploring its potential use in monitoring exposure to airborne corona virus pathogens.

Fashion bracelets contain data on pollution and Covid-19 in the air

Air pollution is ranked as one of the top 10 global health risks associated with non-communicable diseases. Organic air pollutants have been shown to cause respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, as well as reproductive and neurological problems. However, measuring individual exposure to air is still difficult.

The bracelet is like a fashion watch that measures exposure to air. (Photo: Krystal Pollitt).

Dr. Krystal Pollitt, Yale University, USA has created a very small air pollution sampling device that can be worn on the wrist called Fresh Air . During initial testing, the device collected and accumulated air pollution molecules reliably over time.

Initially, the wristband was designed to detect air pollutants, but in the context of the current pandemic, Dr. Pollitt is exploring its potential use in monitoring exposure to pathogens of corona virus in the air. She is working with two other scientists conducting field tests of the wristband's ability to detect Covid-19 disease at Yale New Haven Hospital.

The structure inside the bracelet measures air pollution.

The Fresh Air bracelet looks like a stylish watch with a plastic air sampler that takes up half the size of a regular watch face. Open the lid to see inside a small foam covered with chemical compound (triethanolamine) reacts with nitrogen dioxide, an air pollutant. The device also contains a small absorbing bar made from polydimethylsiloxane to collect volatile organic compounds found in pesticides, cigarettes and hydrocarbons found in car exhaust, cigarette smoke, and smoke. Forest fires and cooking smoke. Fresh Air bracelets are especially good at capturing heavy molecular compounds and storing them for days.

The gaskets and absorbers can easily be inserted and removed in the bracelet, especially when examining individual exposure over time. When samples were collected, these materials were placed in air-tight amber glass vials for storage until chemical analysis. Instead of extracting samples with laboratory solvents, Dr. Pollitt said her device allows faster and easier analysis by spectroscopy to obtain detailed chemical records of exposure. one's chemicals.

Girls are exposed to higher levels of pollutants than boys

In a recent study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology , Dr. Pollitt and a group of Yale graduates used this bracelet to investigate air pollutant exposure in a group of school-age children in Springfield, Massachusetts. In the device's first large-scale test, the bracelet discovered exposure to pyrene, nitrogen dioxide and other pollutants in children with asthma.

In this trial, 33 children aged 12 and 13 wore wristbands for five days, removing them only at night and by bedside. The participants were mostly girls, accounting for 69% and one third of them were diagnosed with asthma by doctors.

Key findings include:

• Girls have higher levels of pollutants than boys. Children with asthma have increased exposure to pyrene and acenapthylene, which can aggravate breathing problems.
• Children living in homes with gas stoves have increased exposure to some pollutants compared to children with electric stoves.
• Children in homes using ventilated stoves have lower levels of nitrogen dioxide exposure than homes without ventilation.
• Children traveling by car to school increase aromatic hydrocarbon levels compared to their peers walking or traveling by bus.

The research team has expanded their testing globally and is currently using hundreds of Fresh Air bracelets to learn about chemical exposures in pregnant women, seniors and demographics in other countries.

Dr. Krystal Pollitt.

Dr. Pollitt, the inventor of the device, is now applying for a patent. Students from her research group are setting up a startup to bring the product to market.

She said: "We saw the bracelet Fresh Air is an important tool in the study epidemiology in the future. It can provide insight into the profile of exposure of an individual and be replicated to collect data on large populations. This helps us better understand the environmental risk factors for disease. "