A Sensor Data Collection Environment for Clinical Trials Investigating Health Effects of Airborne Pollution

Abstract

This paper describes a novel environment comprising of custom-designed sensor devices for automating data collection for clinical trials investigating health effects of airborne pollution targeted at ambulatory subjects with respiratory ailments such as asthma or COPD. Custom-designed sensors estimate personal exposure to airborne particulates using a body sensor network comprising of a wearable AIRSpeck for monitoring continuously the concentration of coarse (PM10) and fine (PM2.5) airborne particulates, and the RESpeck respiratory monitor worn as a patch on the chest for recording breathing rate and flow. Both the devices communicate wirelessly with an Android mobile phone which serves as a gateway to Google Cloud for storage, and sensor data analytics. A network of stationary AIRSpeck monitors with additional Nitrogen Dioxide and Ozone gas sensors complements the data collected from the personal sensors.