New NIOSH center to focus on exposure assessment devices
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has launched the a Center for Direct Reading and Sensor Technologies (NCDRST) which will serve a home for NIOSH’s longstanding work in the area of exposure assessment devices—work that is done across the Institute.
The use of sensors has increased exponentially in professional applications and in everyday life. Countless remote wireless sensors are now employed for monitoring personal health, the environment, agriculture, work sites, disaster response efforts, and “smart” buildings and facilities, to name some examples. New devices or smart phone applications are appearing every week that promise to measure a person’s environment or health status. The availability of affordable smart phones has driven improved development of sensor technologies for all these applications. Manufacturers are developing and marketing wearable devices and even implantable devices. One example of an exciting current partnership in the occupational safety and health area, which is being funded through the NIOSH extramural grant program and developed at the University of Michigan, is a belt-worn monitor to detect volatile organic compounds.