The first small, mobile secondhand smoke detector, created by Dartmouth researchers, can record exposure in real time, display results on the device and send them to a remote smartphone or computer. The researchers hope the device will help reduce childhood exposure to secondhand smoke by allowing parents who smoke to monitor and limit the amount of nicotine that their children inhale.
Chemistry professor Joseph BelBruno, Geisel School of Medicine professors Mardi Crane-Godreau and Susanne Tanski and chemistry graduate students Sadik Antwi-Boampong and Yuan Liu published their study in Nicotine and Tobacco Research Journal on March 11. Dartmouth has applied for a patent for the technology.
The device uses an acidic polymer, which interacts with nicotine, a basic chemical, in the environment. The polymer is coated on top of electrodes, combining to form a circuit that can measure changes in the amount of nicotine in the environment and subsequently send an electrical signal that can then be interpreted, BelBruno said. The device is roughly the size of an eraser.
One major innovation of the new device is that it allows for real-time data collection. Because of this feature, the amount of nicotine exposure in different situations can be exactly determined. For example, a person could measure the harmfulness of secondhand smoke in a room with an open window.
The team made several prototypes, and plans to test the device in a clinical setting. To test the detector's response to various amounts of secondhand smoke, researchers used a machine that mimics cigarette smoking to create a secondhand smoke environment in a contained space. The sensor also measures the amount of thirdhand smoke, defined as nicotine that lingers after smoke has cleared on clothing, bedding and other parts of the environment.
The researchers used easily sourced materials and will focus on making them cost-effective, he said.
BelBruno hopes the detector will reduce childhood exposure to secondhand smoke.
"The idea is that parents who are still smokers but are concerned about their children can make sure that when they do smoke, they are smoking far enough away from their children so that their children aren't exposed to smoke," Belbruno said.
Doctors may use the device to track smoking patterns and aid quitting, among other applications.
The device could ensure that restaurants, hotels and other shared spaces are smoke-free, Antwi-Boampong said.
"In the long term I think this device will really be a tool for parents, for physicians, for restaurant owners and for people who are concerned about limiting exposure to secondhand smoke," he said.
The researchers intend to raise awareness of secondhand smoke's harfmul effects on both smokers and nonsmokers.
Liu said he would like to see additional warnings on cigarette boxes, which indicate the dangers associated with secondhand smoke exposure, in addition to the current precaution against smoking's first-hand dangers.
"When somebody is smoking, you have a responsibility to tell other people around you how much nicotine you are producing," Liu said. "Smoking is your habit everybody has a habit and that's okay but you don't want to hurt other people by your habit."
The study differs from typical chemistry research, which is usually less product-focused, and allowed the researchers to make create a product destined for more widespread use.
"From the perspective of a scientist who works in the lab, it's been an interesting process because this is a device that goes out to the real world," BelBruno said. "For the graduate students and myself working on it, it's a new kind of experience."
The research was supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics Julius B. Richmond Center of Excellence, and funded by Flight Attendants Medical Research Institute and the Norris Cotton Cancer Center.
Researchers collaborated with computer science professors and Thayer School of Engineering students and professors.
