Abstract
Monitoring environmental exposures, and the physiological response to these exposures, is critical to both epidemiological research and first responder monitoring. There is a growing commercial need for a seamless personal monitor capable of measuring both physiological data and environmental exposures to airborne chemical species (such ozone, CO, and VOCs) in a single compact device. Existing monitors are too large, power-hungry, require multiple devices worn across several parts of the body, and are not practical to wear for long periods of time. Valencell has previously demonstrated proprietary Healthset® technology for monitoring vital signs through a wireless audio earbud. The Healthset platform enables vital signs information to be sent from the earbud, to a mobile phone, and onto the internet. Because hundreds of millions of people where earbuds in everyday life activities, the Healthset solution is seamless to end users. However, the platform currently lacks a commercially viable sensor technology for measuring personal environmental exposures to airborne chemical species in the same compact form-factor. Addressing this challenge, Valencell has demonstrated the feasibility of volatile organic compound (VOC) monitoring using novel photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) sensors that can be integrated into an audio headset, but there is much to be understood about the bizarre behavior of these PEC sensors. This presentation will summarize the promise and challenges of developing a seamless solution for mobile physiological and environmental exposure monitoring.
Biosketch
Dr. Steven LeBoeuf is the President & CEO of Valencell, Inc., a health and fitness sensor technology company located in Raleigh, North Carolina. He left his job as a lead scientist at GE Global Research to found Valencell in September 2006, with the goal of making healthy lifestyles easier, more effective, and more affordable through seamless mobile technology. LeBoeuf has raised and managed over $4M in R&D funding and has filed over 50 patents for his designs. While at GE Global Research, LeBoeuf led the optoelectronic biosensor program.
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