According to the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center report, carbon monoxide is the leading cause of accidental death by poisoning. More recent estimates reveal 3,500-4,000 people die each year due to accidental CO exposure;and an additional 10,000 seek medical attention. Carbon monoxide exposure is especially dangerous for unborn babies, infants, and children because they have smaller bodies and faster metabolisms -- they absorb carbon monoxide quicker and at lower levels. Toxic levels of carbon monoxide can be up to ten times higher in the fetus than the mother. Possible mitigation requires a reliable, early warning CO detector. High sensitivity and complete reversibility are two desirable characteristics that are lacking severely in CO detectors currently available in the market. During Phase I, InnoSense LLC has demonstrated a thin film-based CO sensor sensitive to 5 ppm CO responding within five seconds. The sensor has also shown reversibility within five seconds. The Phase II project would: (a) Fine-tune the CO indicator for shortening the response/recovery times by 50% or more, (b) Conduct extensive performance studies to evaluate for how long and how effectively this sensor would perform reliably in the presence of contaminants likely to be found in a typical household.
Sensitive to Low PPM and Reversible Sensor for CO Phase II Project Narrative A key goal of the Phase II project is to fine-tune the CO indicator formulation. The Phase II work builds on the thin film formulation developed during Phase I utilizing ormosil matrix. This formulation strategy along with the fiber bundle approach complements the Principal Investigator's earlier patents covering basic ingredients of the CO indicator. Together, the sensing platform is expected to offer devices that would have multi-analyte detection capability. InnoSense LLC has systematically assembled and developed chemical sensor capabilities, materials science expertise, and home-built optoelectronic test and measurement devices. The company has also assembled a competent scientific team having seventy person-years of experience developing commercially viable sensor products. Given these resources and its commitment to the area of medically relevant sensors, InnoSense LLC is uniquely positioned to make effective use of the Phase II funding to study development of this life-saving device especially for a vulnerable portion of our populace - the elderly, infants and pregnant women carrying the unborn.
