Last year, VigiLife began partnering with Purdue University, University of Notre Dame, and Aptima, Inc. to design new sensors for the Nano-Bio Materials Consortium (NBMC). These sensors, which are capable of monitoring a diverse array of environmental chemical threats, are being developed as a part of NBMC’s Sensor-based Monitoring and Assessment via Remote Telemetry and Wearables for Augmentation of Tactical Care and Health (SMARTWATCH) Project.

This team is currently at work on an “electronic nose,” a single sensor array that can be manufactured affordably at scale and paired with machine learning methods (through VigiLife’s SafeGuard) to detect a wide variety of chemical threats. The ultimate goal is to establish a new paradigm of chemical sensors that are specific, sensitive, and do not require calibration.

According to Jeremy W. Ward, VigiLife’s VP of Products & Partnerships, “The team will be seeking additional funding within 2023 to commercialize the technology for personalized exposure monitoring. Within that effort, we welcome chemical target recommendations from companies seeking to monitor the exposure of the workforce.”