SBIR Phase II: Development of an Optical Sensor for Instantaneous Detection of Bioaerosols

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II research project addresses the development of a novel real-time bio-aerosol machine for detecting and identifying harmful bio-aerosols present in the environment. The system will use the time of flight method to determine the aerodynamic size, and the Multiphoton Laser Induced Fluorescence (MLIF) method for the identification of the fluorescence spectrums. The novelty of the detection machine lies in the use of in-line, non-invasive techniques to measure these two important parameters. The system will consist of a compact laser source, a laser diode, a spectrometer, fiber optics couplings, a series of lenses and filters, pumps, flowmeters and pressure transducers. The sensor will be driven by two printed circuit boards and by computer software both uniquely designed for the proposed detector. The need for the proposed instrument is of high priority in current times due to the extreme concerns about air quality issues and the high probability of terrorist attacks in large urban settings. The initial target markets for this product are "first emergency response" civilian agencies, medium to large size hospitals, and the armed forces.