NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
J Breath Res. 2008 Sep;2(3):037020. doi: 10.1088/1752-7155/2/3/037020.
The aerospace industry requires the development of a range of chemical sensor technologies for such applications as leak detection, emission monitoring, fuel leak detection, environmental monitoring, and fire detection. A family of chemical sensors are being developed based on micromachining and microfabrication technology to fabricate microsensors with minimal size, weight, and power consumption, and the use of nanomaterials and structures to develop sensors with improved stability combined with higher sensitivity. However, individual sensors are limited in the amount of information that they can provide in environments that contain multiple chemical species. Thus, sensor arrays are being developed to address detection needs in such multi-species environments. These technologies and technical approaches have direct relevance to breath monitoring for clinical applications. This paper gives an overview of developing cutting-edge sensor technology and possible barriers to new technology implementation. This includes lessons learned from previous microsensor development, recent work in development of a breath monitoring system, and future directions in the implementation of cutting edge sensor technology. Clinical applications and the potential impact to the biomedical field of miniaturized smart gas sensor technology are discussed.
航空航天工业需要开发一系列化学传感器技术，用于泄漏检测、排放监测、燃料泄漏检测、环境监测和火灾检测等应用。目前正在基于微机械加工和微制造技术开发一系列化学传感器，以制造出尺寸最小、重量最轻、功耗最低的微传感器，并使用纳米材料和结构来开发具有更高灵敏度和稳定性的传感器。然而，单个传感器在包含多种化学物质的环境中所能提供的信息量是有限的。因此，正在开发传感器阵列来满足多物种环境中的检测需求。这些技术和技术方法与临床应用中的呼吸监测直接相关。本文概述了开发尖端传感器技术和新技术实施可能面临的障碍。这包括从以前的微传感器开发中吸取的经验教训、最近开发呼吸监测系统的工作以及实施尖端传感器技术的未来方向。讨论了临床应用以及小型化智能气体传感器技术对生物医学领域的潜在影响。
