Bioaerosol Sensing Project Seeks to Lower False Alarm Rates
Commercially available, fast-response bioaerosol detectors that can help guard against bioterrorist strikes in large public spaces face a significant hurdle: false alarms. Facility managers responsible for airports, train stations, sports arenas, and other venues will be loathe to install biodetection systems until they can be close to certain that the hardware won’t alarm without cause and force unnecessary evacuations.
But a Department of Homeland Security-funded project involving a group of Sandia National Laboratories researchers promises to answer the question of why false alarms occur and how to bring down the rate. The project, currently called Enhanced Bioaerosol Detection System (EBADS), aims to do just that — enhance the performance of bioaerosol detectors, specifically those based on laser-induced fluorescence (LIF).
EBADS literally takes a second look at what is in the air when a LIF sensor alarms, and determines if there is sufficient bioaerosol present for concern. If successful, EBADS could be paired with existing sensors for a more refined and commercially deployable detector system.
The project is a multilab effort involving Sandia, Lawrence Livermore, Oak Ridge, and Pacific Northwest national laboratories. Work began in 2005 as a follow-on to Sandia’s PROACT (Protective and Responsive Options for Airport Counter-Terrorism) program.
Initially, various sensors were deployed in the PROACT testbed to understand the false-alarm rate. The testbed included the LLNL Bioaerosol Mass Spectrometer (BAMS) and a selective particle collector that Sandia and Yale University assembled.
“The first phase focused on understanding the problem,” says principal investigator Tom Kulp. The Sandia EBADS team, he says, collected particles present in the air when a false alarm occurred and analyzed them in the field and in the lab.
The researchers came to the conclusion that existing sensors don’t discriminate well between biological and nonbiological particles. If that capability could be enhanced, the result might be a sensor system with significantly fewer false alarms.
The goal, says Kulp, is not to identify particles, but to determine within one to two minutes if there is an unusual amount of biological aerosol in the air — sufficient information to know you’ve got something to worry about.
The project is unique in that it seeks to develop a method, not produce a physical tool. “We are proving a methodology, which would then be implemented with the assistance of industry,” he explains.
Watch more breaking news now on our video feed:
Bookmark http://universeeverything.blogspot.com/ and drop back in sometime.
But a Department of Homeland Security-funded project involving a group of Sandia National Laboratories researchers promises to answer the question of why false alarms occur and how to bring down the rate. The project, currently called Enhanced Bioaerosol Detection System (EBADS), aims to do just that — enhance the performance of bioaerosol detectors, specifically those based on laser-induced fluorescence (LIF).
EBADS literally takes a second look at what is in the air when a LIF sensor alarms, and determines if there is sufficient bioaerosol present for concern. If successful, EBADS could be paired with existing sensors for a more refined and commercially deployable detector system.
The project is a multilab effort involving Sandia, Lawrence Livermore, Oak Ridge, and Pacific Northwest national laboratories. Work began in 2005 as a follow-on to Sandia’s PROACT (Protective and Responsive Options for Airport Counter-Terrorism) program.
Initially, various sensors were deployed in the PROACT testbed to understand the false-alarm rate. The testbed included the LLNL Bioaerosol Mass Spectrometer (BAMS) and a selective particle collector that Sandia and Yale University assembled.
“The first phase focused on understanding the problem,” says principal investigator Tom Kulp. The Sandia EBADS team, he says, collected particles present in the air when a false alarm occurred and analyzed them in the field and in the lab.
The researchers came to the conclusion that existing sensors don’t discriminate well between biological and nonbiological particles. If that capability could be enhanced, the result might be a sensor system with significantly fewer false alarms.
The goal, says Kulp, is not to identify particles, but to determine within one to two minutes if there is an unusual amount of biological aerosol in the air — sufficient information to know you’ve got something to worry about.
The project is unique in that it seeks to develop a method, not produce a physical tool. “We are proving a methodology, which would then be implemented with the assistance of industry,” he explains.
Watch more breaking news now on our video feed:
Bookmark http://universeeverything.blogspot.com/ and drop back in sometime.
Labels: homeland security, Sandia, terrorism, terrorist attack
posted by Scott Nance at
11/20/2007 09:14:00 PM
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