Toxic Industrial Chemicals (TICs) pose significant dangers to human health upon exposure. Unfortunately, emergency responders are unwittingly exposed to these TICs while responding and containing crisis situations, leading increased risk for disease. To protect emergency responders against dangerous exposure to chemicals, Platypus Technologies will develop a wearable chemical sensor badge that can be readily attached to uniforms of emergency response personnel and emits visual, auditory and vibrational alarms when TICs are detected. The badge will be based on innovative liquid crystal (LC) sensing technologies developed by Platypus Technologies that enable low cost, low maintenance devices that respond rapidly to specific TICs, even in the presence of potential interferents. Preliminary result demonstrate that LC-based sensor elements can meet stringent sensitivity limits required for detection of TICs at concentrations relevant for human health. The work proposed aims to expand the capabilities of LC-based sensing technologies, validate their performance under various environmental conditions, and design the electronic and mechanical components comprising the wearable sensor badge.
