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2012 R&D 100 Award Entry Form
1. Developer Information
A. Primary submitting organization:
Organization Name: RTI International, Engineering Technology Unit
Contact Name of Individual Submitting this Entry: Charles E. Rodes, PhD
Address: 3040 E. Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194
City/State: Research Triangle Park, NC
Zip/Postal Code: 27709-2194
Country: USA
Phone: 919-541-6749
FAX: 919-541-6936
Email: charlesr@rti.org
Web URL: www.rti.org
B. Joint Submitters: none
2. Product Information
A. Product Name: RTI MicroPEM™
The RTI MicroPEM was conceived in 2006 by RTI International and developed during the past 5 years
using both internal research funds and NIH/NIEHS grant support (U01ES016093; Dr. Rodes, RTI principal
investigator). This tiny personal aerosol exposure characterization platform has applications in both
environmental health studies, and as a clinical monitor to help asthmatics better manage exposures that
might trigger adverse health problems. The prototype system was first offered for sale in 2011 to
potential research partners to both assist in validating the performance in the hand of users, but also to
help identify system modifications that would be of greatest value in moving the unit to
commercialization. Unlike simple environmental concentration sensors, the MicroPEM applies on-board
accelerometry to predict breathing volumes (liters/minute) so the system can also estimate for the first
time, potential aerosol dose levels in micrograms/minute/kg of body weight. Integrated innovations
include: very low pressure drop components maximize battery life; full laminar flow design to reduce
internal losses and maximizes service intervals; proprietary laser focusing maximizes sensitivity while
minimizing the compactness of the optical bench; internal capture of all aerosol sampled allows both
acute and chronic scale health impacts to be investigated; creative injection molding of numerous
components reduces both size and weight with batteries to less than 1/4th that of the current
technology; and parallel collection of critical QA data ready validation of the collected data.
B. Product Photos: See Figures 2-1a and 2-1b.
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sound damping
module
b
a
c
Figure 2-1a, b, c. examples of the RTI MicroPEM used to monitor aerosol exposures of an asthmatic adult
while driving (a) and a child playing (c); with the system open to show the compact component layout (b). A
diagram of the (black) inlet and optical bench assembly is provided in Figure 11-1.
3. Briefly Describe What the Entry Is: The MicroPEM is a personal aerosol dose characterization system
that enables linking environmental pollutants with health and will allow users to manage respiratory
diseases.
4. When was the Product First Marketed?: The version 3.2 dMicroPEM was first offered to the
potential user community for purchase on July 20, 2011. The offer document can be viewed at the
footnoted web site1 and described the technological advances and
specifications, how the technology can be used in environmental health
studies, and noted that the initial (CDC-funded) application was to evaluate
the impacts of aerosols on asthma severity levels for children who resided
temporarily in the FEMA-provided housing following hurricanes Katrina and
Rita. The 120+ units needed to study these children was being expanded to
an initial build of 200 units (see Figure 4-1) to allow a broader range of user
testing to assist RTI in more fully identify capabilities and validating
performance in real applications. The initial offer price was $1,990 per unit,
which was at least 60% lower than potentially competing technologies,
following innovative manufacturing cost reduction steps funded by RTI to not
Figure 4-1. first 130
unit built and tested
only providing a robust technology, but just as importantly, a technology that
for full functionality
was sufficiently cost-effective at this early stage to be moved directly into
user applications. A weblink to a video clip describing the MicroPEM is
2
provided .
1
2
http:\www.rti.org.xxxxxxx
http\www.rti.org/xxxxxx
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5. Has this product or an earlier version been entered in the R&D100 awards previously?:
No
6. Principal/Primary investigor, deloper, inventor, or team lead:
Developer Name: Charles E. Rodes, PhD
Position: Senior Fellow, aerosol exposure research
Address: 3040 E. Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194
City/State: Research Triangle Park, NC
Zip/Postal Code: 27709-2194
Country: USA
Phone: 919-541-6749
FAX: 919-541-6936
Email: charlesr@rti.org
7. Product price in US dollars:
The initial offering price was $1,990.
A provisional patent for the MicroPEM system entitled
"Aerosol Exposure Monitoring" was filed on October 27, 2011, and assigned #61/551,660.
Earlier patents were awarded on utilizing motion sensing to track wearing compliance of
personal exposure devices, including Lawless, "Portable air sampling apparatus including nonintrusive activity monitor and methods of using same", #'s 6,327,918 and 6,502,469.
8. List any patents or patents pending:
9. Describe your product's primary function as clearly as possible. What does it do?:
The need for the RTI MicroPEM was established during 15 years of attempting to study
exposures to aerosols by adults and children whose health was being compromised if there
were susceptible populations. The exposure technologies for such studies have been expensive
and unwieldy and difficult to deploy at the breathing zone level, often resulting in substantial
exposure biases. Translating robust pollution sensors to personal level platforms has been the
holy grail for health-based panel studies, but is only now being realized. The new v3.2
MicroPEM allows simple deployment approaches to characterize exposure levels that truly
represents what participant are actually breathing. Cellphone sized sensors carried by
participants allow minimally-biased exposure estimates and the least-biased estimates for
those who are most-exposed.
While large and complex pollutant sensors have been available to size and characterize
airborne aerosol levels in ambient air and indoor settings, it has become clear that these device
define only the median and interquartile ranges for cohorts, and typically do not capture the
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scenarios when individuals are most exposed. Rodes et al. (2010)3 showed that personal level
characterizations were required to have an certainty that the exposures above the 90th
percentile were sensed and captured. Otherwise, the exposure data had a limited range and
association with diseases were much weaker or not existent. Brook et al. (2010) for example,
found that key cardiovascular functions showed stronger and consistent correlations with
exposures made at the personal level than general data collected at neighborhood monitoring
sites4. Langrish et al. (2012)5 recently demonstrated that reducing personal exposures to
aerosols can result in substantial improvements in cardiovascular health, which is a very
important finding for those with weak or compromised vasuclar system such as the elderly.
Utilizing an easy to carry personal aerosol exposure monitor will allow sensitive individuals to
identify periods of elevated
exposures and take actions
to minimize subsequent
levels. An example of a
period of elevated exposures
is shown in the MicroPEM
PM10 data (particles
nominally less than 10
micrometers which can pass
the thorax during breathing)
shown in Figure 9-1, where
unusually high levels were
recorded in a busy
restaurant.
Figure 9-1. MicroPEM exposure data collected from vest pocket location
showing low indoor levels, but elevated sidewalk and restaurant aerosol
levels.
3
Rodes, C., Lawless, P. A., Thornburg, J. W., Williams, R. W, and C Croghan (2010) "DEARS Particulate Matter
Relationships for Personal, Indoor, Outdoor, and Central Site Settings for a General Population", Atmos. Env.,
44:11, 1386-1399.
4
Brook, R., Bard, R., Burnett, R., Shin, H., Vette, A., Croghan, C., Phillips, M., Rodes, C., Thornburg, J. and R.
Williams (2010), "Difference in Blood Pressure and Vascular Responses Associated with Ambient Fine Particulate
Matter Exposures Measured at the Personal Versus Community Level", Occup. Env. Med, 68:224-230.
5
Langrish, J. et al. (2012), "Reducing Personal Exposure to Particulate Air Pollution Improves Cardiovascular Health
in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease", Environmental Health Perspectives, published on-line,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/e3hp.1103898, January 3, 2012.
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Translating sensor technologies into miniature but robust exposure characterization platforms
that can and will be carried by individuals at the personal level is clearly the path forward for
making substantive improvements in public health. For aerosol exposures, the personal
platform must have the performance levels needed to accurately and precisely size and sense
the aerosol into fractions that can be directly related to health, and have a detection limit of at
least 1 microgram per cubic meter. Devising such suitably sensitive, accurate and precise
aerosol sensor systems that have low enough burden levels to be carried or worn easily has
simply not occurred prior to the MicroPEM. Recent RTI focus group testing has shown that
exposure sensors need to approximate the size and weight of current smart phones, weigh less
than ~250g, and have add no more than 3 decibels of noise to the backgraound to be
acceptable to most U. S. adults and children. The units must also be power-frugal such that an
inexpensive battery pack (3
alkaline AA batteries) will operate
the unit reliable for up to 48
hour. Otherwise, frequent and
costly battery changes will
discourage extended use in
health management programs.
But health impacts from air
pollutants are based not just on
the concentrations in the
environment, but how much of
the pollutant is actually inhaled
during breathing. For the first
time, the MicroPEM technology
utilizes on-board accerometric
Figure 9-2. Adult ventilation rate obtained from scripted testing
data collections that can be
while wearing an MicroPEM during a range of typical activities.
utilized to estimate ventilation
volumes (cubic meters/min) in real-time, and then translate exposure levels (e.g. in micrograms
per cubic meter) into the true body burden potential doses being experienced by the
respiratory system in micrograms per minute. This was enabled by by a research collaboration
between RTI International, Columbia University, MIT, and Stanford University that showed that
accelerometric data if processed correctly were related linearly to ventilation rates for adults
and children for at rest and ambulatory activities. The example data in Figure 9-2 (based on
Rodes et al., 2012) show how the ventilation rate for a participant increased compared with the
at rest (lying down) rate. For the normal activity of walking at 4 mph, the breathing rate is
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three times that at rest. That mean aerosol doses taken into the body would be 3x that
suggested by simplistic concentrations, substantially underestimating the potential health
impacts.
Figure 9-3. MicroPEM "docking station" software screen shot shows how laboratory linear regression data
allow predicting ventilation rates (right side scale) and actual doses from simple concentrations.
The innovative "docking station" software written in Visual Studio to support the MicroPEM,
allows the ventilation rate to be predicted in real-time, so that the dose can estimated in realtime, based on the concurrent aerosol concentration. Utilizing potential dose instead of the
concentration data is expected to significantly improve the strength of associations utilized to
predict adverse health changes. This feature alone could revolutionize health studies of aerosol
impacts, and greatly improve the prediction accuracy for a subject during clinical applications.
Importantly, the MicroPEM also collects aerosol data at two very different time scales - 1)
integrated over extended daily or weekly periods for diseases such as cancers which are
minimally-sensitive to short term pollutant level changes, and 2) in real-time for
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cardiopulmonary impacts that are, such as the onset of asthma attachks or adverse changes in
heart rate variability. The integrated collections are made onto filters that can be archived and
examined at a later date if adverse health response changes are observed. Utilizing the
MicroPEM for responders in disaster responses could substantially increase the understanding
as to how responders may have inadvertently been exposed during periods when not wearing
protective gear. Rodes et al (2008) strongly recommended that such technologies be made
available to characterize exposures for responders and the public during and in the aftermath
of disasters.6 The MicroPEM will now make those recommendation a reality. Since many
referee standard measurements for pollutant concentrations are based on integrated
collections, this duality allows less than ideal but very low cost real-time sensors to be utilized
but then validated as necessary against the parallel referee sample for critical applications. This
reduces the cost and complexity of the MicroPEM while assuring that validation of the accuracy
can be provided on an as needed basis.
aerosol
flow
10. How does it operate? What science is
involved?:
typically
<25mm
laser
scattered
light
Figure 10-1. The integrated MicroPEM 2-stage sizing
inlet, optical bench with 10mm path length, and
integrated filter holder. Note that this design is very
compact, and innovatively designed to allow the laser
diode to be within 25mm of the sensing volume without
creating excessive stray light scattering.
6
The RTI MicroPEM integrates a number of
technologies into the system in order to
collectively advance the state of the
science of characterizing aerosol
exposures and and translating them into
both concentrations and potential doses
in real-time. A tiny, dual-stage impactor
set (see Figure 10-1) only 15mm in
diameter sizes the aerosol entering the
unit, passing the aerosol to the 10mm
optical bench path length completely in
laminar flow. The extraordinarily low
Reynold's number minimizes internal
losses and maximize run time without
servicing. The innovative optical bench
design allows the source laser to be
<25mm from the sensing volume to
Rodes, C., Pellizzari, E., Dellarco, M., Erickson, M., Vallero, D., Reissman, D., Lioy, P., Lippmann, M., Burke, T., and
B. Goldstein (2008), "ISEA2007 Panel: Integration of Better Exposure Characterizations into Disaster Preparedness
for Responders and the Public", JESEE, 18:541 - 550.
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achieve compactness, while still providing very low stray scattered light levels for
nephelometry. Excess stray scattering can overwhelm the sensitivity of the nephelometer,
resulting in high noise, and poor sensitivity. Properly conducted nephelometery utilizes the
light scattered from aerosol suspended in air and calibrated in terms of mass concentrations
utilizing a variety of aerosol challenges in controlled calibration chamber settings. The relative
consistency of mixtures of particle types and refractive indicies in most ambient exposure
scenarios allows fairly simplistic calibration regressions to be applied. A combination filter
holder/orifice assembly then captures the sensed aerosol on an archivable very-low-pressure
drop 25mm OD teflon filter that can serve as the archived "referee" sample against which to
normalize the real-time data in appropriate. A tiny, downstream carbon vane pump operating
at 0.5 lpm, provides the convective flow needed to size, sense and capture the aerosol, while
minimizing the power required to operate for extended periods.
A tiny 5mm square triaxial accelerometer chip is located on the unit motherboard which is
located just below the filter holder. This chip moves with the system, and the signal is
processed on-board and saved at the appropriate rates to allow determining if and when the
unit is being worn, and the expected ventilation rate of the person. Conversion of the
accelerometric data to ventilation rates and doses is accomplished during concentration data
downloading. RTI International has long been an advocate of the importance of know whether
wearing protocols were being followed, and holds several patents on how this can be done (see
Section 8). A 16 MB on-board memory provides ample storage for both concentration data and
QC parameters such as flow rate, filter pressure drop, battery voltage, wearing compliance,
temperature, and relative humidity. This QC data is automatically downloaded with the aerosol
exposure data and is used to define the quality of each filter sample and data set.
11. What are the building blocks of your technology? Describe the materials, composition,
construction, or mechanism of action:
The RTI MicroPEM's most important building blocks are the sensitive, but low-cost
nephelometer to sense sized aerosols, operating at 780 nm wavelength. The laminar flow
integration of the filtration system into the optical bench provides a very low pressure drop and
minimizes aerosol losses that could cloud the senor optics. The inclusion of a triaxial
accelerometer on-board that has been calibrated to predict inhalation volumes is perhaps the
most innovative single design element in the system. Integrating these features into an
extremely low pressure drop flow system, coupled with an aggessive electronics power
management system design that only energizes key components when needed, maximizes the
operating period to up to 48 hours when operating on batteries. The physical integration of
these key components combined with a proprietary sound damping chamber, has altered the
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both burden level and form factor for the wearer provide very acceptable levels for both
children and adults. Providing both real-time data and filter sample integration simultaneously,
allow studying a range of diseases with both very short and very long exposure response
periods. RTI International has also invested in very cost-effective construction and assembly
technologies to bring the system cost to amazingly low levels compared to the competition.
This shift in the paradigm to substantially lower unit costs (see cost comparison with
competition in Table 12-4), even with a near 10-fold increase in the technologies applied, is
simply precident setting. It will also allow consideration of the MicroPEM for extremely large,
nationwide-scale studies that provide maximal benefits for the health of national populations.
To illustrate the importance of the latter feature, Dr. Rodes was asked (7/19/2011) to present a
webinar discussion for the NIH-supported National Children's Study on how the MicroPEM
would benefit an effort attempting to follow the exposures and health of 100,000 U. S. children
from birth to age 217.
12. Product comparison:
A. List competitors, brand names, and model numbers
Since the MicroPEM integrates a filtration system into the real-time optical bench design capable of
being utilized at the personal exposure level, two classes of current techology exposure characterization
competitors must be listed (see Tables 12-1 to 12-4). The most widely recognized competitor for realtime monitoring of sized aerosols is TSI, Inc. while SKC, Inc. has the most comparable aerosol sampling
systems for integrated collection on filters. While stand-alone personal accelerometry modules such as
the Phillips Actiwatch 2 are available, none of the exposure sensor competitors (TSI or otherwise) can
currently predict potential dose at the personal level. Products must also be low-burden enough to be
utilized at the personal level (worn). The TSI SidePak AM510 is the only TSI aerosol sensor that can
reasonably be worn, but is sold primarily as an occupational monitor for health adults.
B. Supply a table showing how key features compare to existing capabilities
Table 12-1a. Comparison of competitor system functional capabilities
Vendor/
Technology
Personal
level
capability?
Integrated
Filter
Exposure?
Real-time
Aerosol
Sensing?
On-board
QC data
storage?
Realtime
Accel.?
Real-time
Potential
Dose?
RTI MicroPEM v3.2
TSI SidePak AM510
TSI DustTrak 8520
SKC Impact System 100-3901
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
na
na
YES
YES
YES
YES
na
YES
NO
NO
NO
YES
NO
NO
NO
YES
NO
NO
NO
na -feature not available
7
see: http://www.nationalchildrensstudy.gov/research/workshops/Pages/Rodes-RTI-webinar-7-19-2011.pdf
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Table 12-1b. Comparison of competitor system functional capabilities (continued)
Aerosol sizing
accuracy better
than +/- 15% for
24+ hr periods?
Vendor/
Technology
Uses
accelerometry
to determine
protocol
wearing
compliance?
RTI MicroPEM v3.2
TSI SidePak AM510
TSI DustTrak 8520
SKC Impact System 100-3901
YES
NO
NO
NO
YES
NO
YES
YES
Real-time
precision better
than +/- 10%
Real-time
detection
limit of 1
g/m3?
YES
NO
NO
na
YES
YES
YES
NO
na -feature not available
Table 12-2. Comparison of real-time aerosol nephelometry range and sensitivity
Vendor/
Technology
Concentration range,
gs/m3 (see note)
Detection
sensitivity, g/m3
Temperature bias,
RTI MicroPEM v3.2
TSI SidePak AM510
TSI DustTrak 8520
0 to 12,000
0 to 20,000
0 to 100,000
1
1
1
0.5
1.0
1.0
g/m3/oC
Note: concentration upper limits exceeding 1,000 g/m3, while useful in some occupational settings, are not
useful in residential health studies for the general public, as air pollution standards for aerosol exposure are
typically less than 100 g/m3, while changes of as little as 10 g/m3 can alter asthma severity levels.
Table 12-3. Comparison of competitor system weights and battery life as a personal monitor
Vendor/
Technology
Approximate weight with
batteries, g.
Approx. battery
life, hrs
RTI MicroPEM v3.2
TSI SidePak AM510
TSI DustTrak 8520
SKC Impact System 100-3901
230
540
1,505
2,300
up to 48
29
24
24
Table 12-4. Comparison of competitor purchase cost estimates (US$)
Vendor Technology
Approximate purchase cost, $
RTI MicroPEM v3.2
$1,990
TSI SidePak AM510
$3,895
TSI DustTrak 8520
$4,800+
SKC Impact System 100-3901
$3,380
Phillips Actiwatch 2
$1,460*
Note: Directly comparable costing to the MicroPEM technology integration is not available. The total for the TSI
Sidepak AM510, SKC Impact System, and the Phillips Actiwatch at $6,855 is the most direct cost comparison with
the MicroPEM v3.2 at $1,990. While the Actiwatch is cost-effectively price, it only characterizing motion.
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equivalent
Performance comparison color shading key with MicroPEM key:
reduced
sharply reduced
Thus, the RTI MicroPEM:
 has a much broader range of functionalities than any competitor
 is the only system to provide estimated dose levels in real-time
 has equal or better performance for all key metrics compared to the competition
 is at least 50% smaller and lighter
 will operate on batteries at least 50% longer
 is the only aerosol personal platform that weighs <300g and meets the threshold for children
 collects the necessary QC on-board to fully validate the collected sample and data
 monitors protocol wearing compliance to show the monitor is used as intended
 costs one third of comparable merged technologies, even in limited quantity production.
C. Describe how your product improves upon competitive products
As demonstrated by Tables 12-1 through 12-4, the MicroPEM technology either meets or excels
compared to the competition in both individual specifications and - most importantly - overall
functionality. To be of greatest use in linking exposures and doses to adverse health effects, the sensor
system must be carried at the personal level8. Only the MicroPEM even comes close to being sufficiently
low burden to be considered for children (see Figure 1b), which from RTI focus group studies simply
won't tolerate a device that weighs much more than 350g for extended periods. The 40+ hour battery
life can be extended to integration periods as long as 1 week (168 hrs) using the on-board MicroPEM
system cylcing option. While the aerosol sensing performance of the MicroPEM is comparable to the
competition, the very cost effective manufacturing cost (injection molded) for the key MicroPEM
components reduces the purchase investment significantly.
But exposure measurements in terms of concentrations only do not take into account how hard an
individual is breathing at the time from elevated levels of physical activity. The MicroPEM has been
calibrated over a range of physiological tests and found to be an excellent estimator of adult ventilation
volumes in liters/min (Rodes et al. 2012)9. This dramatic advance in providing estimated dose levels
rather than simplistic concentration levels, should significantly improve the strengths of associations
between exposures and health risks, and eventually facilitate smaller (fewer participants) studies to
reach the same conclusions, thereby reducing the cost of healthcare.
D. Describe the limitations of your product
8
Rodes, C. and J. Thornburg (2012) "Breathing Zone Exposure Assessment", Chapter 2 in Aerosols Handbook:
Measurement, Dosimetry, and Health, L. Ruzer and N. Harley, eds., CRC Press, New York, NY.
9
Rodes, C., Chillrud, S., Haskell, W., Intille, S., ALbinali, F. and M. Rosenberger (2012) "Predicting Adult Pulmonary
Ventilation Volume and Wearing Compliance by On-Board Accelerometry During Personal Level Exposure
Assessments", in review, Atmos. Env., RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709.
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Building the MicroPEM prototypes in "build" quantities of 200 or so has reduced the cost over single
units, but it still remains at a higher cost level than would be desired for large scale studies. Clearly,
economony of scale productions are expected to reduce the cost another 50% at the 1,000 quantity
level. Also, the MicroPEM system needs more field rather than lab validation data to fully define the
operational accuracy and precision limitations in realistic applications for daily use among adults and
children. Efforts to collect this performance data are underway (and supported by CDC) with submittal
of a peer journal paper expected by March, 2012. The system also needs to undergo one additional
level of miniaturization to reduce weight another 50g and alter it's form factor to be closer to that of
smart phones which are readily carried by both adults and children. Reducing the front-to-back width of
the unit by 50% would significant enhance user acceptance, and would be enabled by having a smaller
aerosol filter of 15mm OD rather than 25mm, which is currently being discussed but not yet
commercially available.
13. Product Use:
A. Describe the principal applications of this product:
The MicroPEM system was designed specifically to enable a wide of studies allowing environmental
pollutant exposures at the personal level (participant-worn) to be linked to subsequent adverse health
outcomes. These include so-called panel studies where hundred or thousands of participants are
recruited to have their exposure levels studied for a selected period, along with monitoring changes in
their health or diseases status. Status changes are frequently documented as changes in severity levels
such as increases in the use of asthma rescue medication, or in extreme cases, visits an emergency room
for treatment. Panel studies are also supported by both the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and drug
companies to study the efficacy of interventions when exposure levels become excessive. These studies
are crucial to understanding how best to protecting public health, how to set environmental standard
levels that are meaningful, as well as allowing retrospective assessments of health problems potentially
resulting from unexpected exposures, such as during and in the aftermath of disasters such as 9/11.
B. List all other applications for which your product can now be used:
The use of the MicroPEM as a clinical tool would help wearers understand how to manage diseases.
This would include diseases such as asthma and COPD which can have rapid disease severity changes
(e.g. asthma attacks) when exposure levels change unexpectedly in scenarios such as following a
smoking bus in traffic, or being in a room when carpet vaccuuming is occurring. In order for the
MicroPEM to be useful in clinical applications, its fundamental design would change. Currently the
MicroPEM was designed to be used transparently by a wearer, with no effort to communicate exposure
levels to the participant. But in clinical applications, a more robust user inferface would be added primarily a miniature display - driven by smart software to allow the MicroPEM to not only recogize
elevated exposure levels, but also recommend potential corrective actions to the user to minimize
subsequent health level changes from occurring.
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14. SUMMARY - Why should our product receive an R&D100 award?:
The RTI MicroPEM represents at least an order-of-magnitude leap in the technology to characterize
aerosol exposures in supporting health studies and leading to improved health for those with
compromised health. This breakthrough technology integrates a range of technologies that currently
aren't merged by any vendor, while reducing a number of design barriers that have existed for such
devices for at least two decades. The hurdles cleared - simultaneously - inlude dramatic reductions in
system cost, noise level, burden level, and power requirements, with concurrent dramatic
improvements in the utility of the system, and providing definable data quality for both the real-time
data and the archivable filter sample. The ability to take simplistic concentrations to the next level and
predict the users ventilation rate and predicted body dose, is by itself, a singularly huge advance over
the current technology. This latter advance in the science has the potential to greatly strengthen risk
estimates from environmental pollutants for a wide range of wearers, but will ultimately reduce the
number of participants studied to reach the same conclusions, thereby significantly reducing research
costs. Even though pilot testing is still in progress, the technology benefits inherent in being able to
apply potential doses to estimate relative risks (RR's), instead of concentrations, could increase the RR
levels by as much as 50%. This should require supporting fewer studies to define the body of data
needed to robustly support setting standard levels for environmental monitoring, or defining the
mitigation levels needed to produce substantive health improvements. Utilization of the MicroPEM in
studies such as the upcoming National Children's Study would reduce the purchase costs of the sensors
by as much as $1M for this study alone. Utilizing potential dose to test the study hypotheses instead of
simple concentration could reduce the number of participants that need to be recruited by as much as
15 to 20%, dependant on the range of activity levels inherent in the children.
Additionally, the MicroPEM has a huge potential to become a very important clinical tool in helping both
families and care providers manage a range of cardiopulmonary diseases for compromised adults and
children. While this capability has only been planned to date, the possiblities are simply huge.
15. AFFIRMATION - By submitting we affirm that this is a fair and accurate representation of this
product:
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APPENDIX A: SUBMITTER INFORMATION
1. Contact person to handle all arrangements on exhibits, banquets, and publicity:
Name: Patrick Gibbons
Organization: RTI International
Address: 3040 E. Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194
City/State: Research Triangle Park, NC
Zip/Postal Code: 27709-2194
Country: USA
Phone: 919-541-6170
FAX: 919-541-6136
Email: pgibbons@rti.org
2. Contact person for media and editorial inquiries:
Name: Patrick Gibbons
Organization: RTI International
Address: 3040 E. Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194
City/State: Research Triangle Park, NC
Zip/Postal Code: 27709-2194
Country: USA
Phone: 919-541-6170
FAX: 919-541-6136
Email: pgibbons@rti.org
APPENDIX B: DEVELOPMENT TEAM INFORMATION
Team Member Name: Charles E. Rodes, PhD (lead developer)
Position: Senior Fellow, aerosol exposure research
Organization Name: RTI International
Address: 3040 E. Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194
City/State: Research Triangle Park, NC
Zip/Postal Code: 27709-2194
Country: USA
Phone: 919-541-6749
FAX: 919-541-6936
Email: charlesr@rti.org
Team Member Name: J. Randall Newsome
Organization Name: RTI International
Position: Senior Systems Technician
15
2/6/12 DRAFT
Address: 3040 E. Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194
City/State: Research Triangle Park, NC
Zip/Postal Code: 27709-2194
Country: USA
Phone: 919-541-6715
FAX: 919-541-6936
Email: jrn@rti.org
Team Member Name: James Carlson
Organization Name: RTI International
Position: Senior Microelectronics Systems Design
Address: 3040 E. Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194
City/State: Research Triangle Park, NC
Zip/Postal Code: 27709-2194
Country: USA
Phone: 919-248-9238
FAX: 919-248-1955
Email: jcarlson@rti.org
Team Member Name: Jeffrey Portzer
Organization Name: RTI International
Position: Senior CAD Systems Desing
Address: 3040 E. Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194
City/State: Research Triangle Park, NC
Zip/Postal Code: 27709-2194
Country: USA
Phone: 919-541-8025
FAX: 919-541-6936
Email:
Team Member Name: Bradley Handziuk
Organization Name: RTI International
Position: Software Programming Design
Address: 3040 E. Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194
City/State: Research Triangle Park, NC
Zip/Postal Code: 27709-2194
Country: USA
Phone: 919-541-1257
16
2/6/12 DRAFT
FAX: 919-541-6936
Email: bhandziuk@rti.org
Team Member Name: Ryan Chartier
Organization Name: RTI International
Position: Software Programming Design
Address: 3040 E. Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194
City/State: Research Triangle Park, NC
Zip/Postal Code: 27709-2194
Country: USA
Phone: 919-541-6057
FAX: 919-541-6936
Email: rchartier@rti.org
Team Member Name: Jonathan Thornburg, PhD
Organization Name: RTI International
Position: Aerosol Exposure Engineer
Address: 3040 E. Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194
City/State: Research Triangle Park, NC
Zip/Postal Code: 27709-2194
Country: USA
Phone: 919-541-5971
FAX: 919-541-6936
Email: jwt@rti.org
Team Member Name: Phillip Lawless
Organization Name: RTI International (Retired)
Position: Aerosol Physicist
Address: 3040 E. Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194
City/State: Research Triangle Park, NC
Zip/Postal Code: 27709-2194
Country: USA
Phone:
FAX:
Email: