Department of Science and High Technology, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, via Valleggio 11, 22100 Como, Italy.
Department of Statistics, Informatics and Applications "G. Parenti", Università degli Studi di Firenze, viale Morgagni 59, 50134 Firenze, Italy.
Sensors (Basel). 2018 Sep 13;18(9):3089. doi: 10.3390/s18093089.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the precision, accuracy, practicality, and potential uses of a PM miniaturized monitor (MM) in exposure assessment. These monitors (AirBeam, HabitatMap) were compared with the widely used direct-reading particulate matter monitors and a gravimetric reference method for PM. Instruments were tested during 20 monitoring sessions that were subdivided in two different seasons to evaluate the performance of sensors across various environmental and meteorological conditions. Measurements were performed at an urban background site in Como, Italy. To evaluate the performance of the instruments, different analyses were conducted on 8-h averaged PM concentrations for comparison between direct-reading monitors and the gravimetric method, and minute-averaged data for comparison between the direct-reading instruments. A linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate whether the two measurement methods, when compared, could be considered comparable and/or mutually predictive. Further, Bland-Altman plots were used to determine whether the methods were characterized by specific biases. Finally, the correlations between the error associated with the direct-reading instruments and the meteorological parameters acquired at the sampling point were investigated. Principal results show a moderate degree of agreement between MMs and the reference method and a bias that increased with an increase in PM concentrations.
本研究旨在评估 PM 微型监测仪（MM）在暴露评估中的精密度、准确度、实用性及其潜在用途。这些监测仪（AirBeam、HabitatMap）与广泛使用的直接读数颗粒物监测仪和重量法参考方法进行了比较，用于 PM。仪器在 20 次监测期间进行了测试，这些监测分为两个不同的季节，以评估传感器在各种环境和气象条件下的性能。测量在意大利科莫的一个城市背景点进行。为了评估仪器的性能，对 8 小时平均 PM 浓度进行了不同的分析，以比较直接读数监测仪和重量法，以及分钟平均数据以比较直接读数仪器。进行线性回归分析，以评估当比较两种测量方法时，它们是否可以被认为是可比的和/或相互预测的。此外，还使用 Bland-Altman 图来确定这些方法是否具有特定的偏差。最后，还研究了与直接读数仪器相关的误差与在采样点获得的气象参数之间的相关性。主要结果表明，MM 与参考方法之间具有中等程度的一致性，并且随着 PM 浓度的增加，偏差也会增加。
