Asthma could be dreadfully debilitating, especially among children. Asthma attacks, unpredictable as they are, can be frustratingly mysterious and difficult to reason out for doctors. Engineers at Georgia Tech Research Institute have developed a vest with air monitoring equipment, which might help a doctor to point out the reason behind an attack. The well-padded vest has a sensor box, which has multiple sensors and measures various organic compounds and materials in the air. The sensors detect suspended particles, volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, temperature, relative humidity, and carbon dioxide particles. The detection could be correlated with an attack and it’s frequency and hence would help the doctor to know the cause behind the asthma attack. The advantage of the vest is that it is less intrusive unlike the room monitors and backpacks, which have been used earlier. The pads are meant to keep the kids and the device safe as they might mistake the vest to be a toy. The system is designed so that it doesn’t get too hot and also guards against injuries due to falls. Sensor technology, which has been used in this vest could develop further and help find the causes of many more such disorders.
Via: ScienCentral
