Device for use in detection of airborne contaminants

#1. Field of the Invention

#The present invention relates to devices for use in detection of airborne contaminants, and more particularly to such devices which are used to detect exposure by a person to particular airborne contaminants. Soldiers and civilians may be exposed to undesirable contaminants which are airborne, such as mustard gas, poison gas, anthrax or other debilitating or fatal spores, etc. The present invention devices reduce uncertainty of exposure and include provision for tracking exposure issues by unique identifiers, which may be used to indicate times, places, persons or any combination thereof.

#2. Information Disclosure Statement

#The present invention should be more fully understood when the specification herein is taken in conjunction with the drawings appended hereto wherein:

#FIG. 1 illustrates a front perspective view of a present invention device;

#FIG. 2 shows a front perspective view of another present invention device utilizing a bar code identifier;

#The present invention is a device and a method used in detection of airborne contaminants. More specifically, it is a device for collecting airborne contaminants to which an individual has been exposed for subsequent detection or confirmation that the individual was or was not exposed to a selected airborne contaminant or contaminants. Thus, if a user wears a present invention device, the airborne contaminant is captured and is preserved for subsequent analysis. In some cases, analysis may be performed as a matter of course, e.g. mandatory; in other cases, analysis may be random; in yet other situations, the devices may be stored, and testing may be performed if a situation in hindsight becomes suspect. There are many important features of the present invention devices. They are adhesive and thus attachable to a person's skin, clothing, or equipment. They are flexible and will conform to the topographies to which they are attached. They capture the airborne contaminants for later analysis, as desired. They eliminate the need for persons to have blood tests or other body-present tests for exposure determination. They may be sealed and preserved for future analysis. They are trackable and create histories based on identifier parameter set by the administrator of their uses. They are useful in mobile environments, both those wherein a person moves through a potentially contaminated area, and wherein contaminated are moved past a person. The identifier may represent a group, e.g. an army battalion, an individual, a date, a time frame, a location, or any combination of these.

#The identifier may be located on the front, the back, or both the front and the back of the device, and may be printed, embossed, hand written or otherwise applied, or a combination. For example, a soldier could be provided with a pack of devices all having that soldier's dog tag number. A spore could be provided wherein each day the soldier would write in the date before applying the device, e.g. to the forehead, chest, back of hand. Alternatively, the devices could include identifiers with a single dog tag number and a series of sequential numbers which would represent the first, second, third, etc. days on the battlefield. Many other alternative data combinations could be used in the identifier.

#FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a present invention device 1, having a front 3 and a back 15. Front 3 has a central portion with a unique numerical identifier 9, while ends 5 and 7 of front 3 contain contaminant carrier 11 and 13 for attracting and holding airborne contaminants. Back 15 includes an adhesive for affixing device 1 to a person.