# Ultrafine Particulate Monitor for Personal Exposure Assessment

> **NIH NIH R44** · AERODYNE MICROSYSTEMS, INC. · 2023 · $110,150

## Abstract

Exposure to particulate air pollutants is associated with cardiovascular disease, asthma, lung cancer, and other
illnesses. In the United States the CDC estimates that asthma costs $20 billion annually in medical care, lost
workdays, and early deaths. However, due to the complexity of the environmental exposure mechanisms,
there remains a degree of uncertainty concerning disease etiology. Wearable and highly-sensitive particulate
sensors could help further elucidate the linkages between disease and particulate exposure.
In the Small Business Innovation Research Phase 2 project, Aerodyne Microsystems Inc. (AMI) is investigating
the feasibility of a miniaturized, battery-powered, and inexpensive sensor for real-time monitoring of exposure
to airborne particulate matter (PM) from 2.5 um to ultrafine. The system employs the thermophoretic
deposition of particulates from a sample air stream onto a thin-film bulk acoustic wave resonator (FBAR) and
determines the PM mass deposited by measuring the frequency shift of oscillation. Incorporation of
micromachined-electromechanical-system (MEMS) technologies allows unprecedented reduction in power
consumption, cost, sample flow rate, and size. The successful outcome of the project would culminate in a
low-cost analytical instrument that provides real-time mass concentration of particles in a compact, wearable
form factor.
The research plan covered in this diversity supplement will guide AMI’s work towards a prototype commercial
monitor capable of aerosol size fractionization. The project will further extend Mohammadreza (Reza) Khani’s,
the project supplementee, experience in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations geared towards
device development related to human health. The career development plan described in this project will foster
Reza’s growth in many areas related to becoming a leading entrepreneur in small businesses.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10852019
- **Project number:** 3R44ES030264-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** AERODYNE MICROSYSTEMS, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** David Michael Woolsey
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $110,150
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-01-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10852019

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10852019, Ultrafine Particulate Monitor for Personal Exposure Assessment (3R44ES030264-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10852019. Licensed CC0.

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