Hello, I have had this idea for a while. I even talked to a couple of scientists doing MCS research but they basically said straight out that they didn't want to get to the bottom of the problem, because then they would be out of a job... anyway, the idea is as follow:
1. To build a small, cheap wearable device, to record objective data.
2. To create an app to record subjective data.
3. To use the information to find common denominators, to figure out what substances MCS sufferers react to and to look at available research about those substances to figure out what part of the body/cells etc that they are known to affect and how.
1. As technology progresses we get better, smaller, cheaper electronics. One such device is the Bosch BME688 AI Gas Sensor (apparently just upgraded to BME690)*. This will of course not replace, multi thousand dollar, lab equipment but I don't think that it matters in this case. The sensor can be used to make ground truth measurements for a common database. This is isolated compounds, that any friend, family member etc could help scan into the database (this is one of the things that I hoped the scientists would have done). If you know that you react to a specific product (consisting of many products), then you can get that scanned to. it will help with the research and the device can warn you if it ever senses it being in your vicinity.
I don't know for sure, but hopefully as the database gets better, you could encounter something new and if most of the substances is already in the database, you can filter out dose and try to figure out what the unknown ones is (this is one of the areas where AI could be helpful, the other is that Bosch claims that their sensor software uses AI in the first place).
2. The app doesn't need to be connected to the device. It could record data and then be uploaded separately and then be uploaded through a computer. But then again electronics is cheap and you need some type of small chip to control the sensors anyway, so it is likely that it will have Bluetooth and then you can transfer data in real time. The main point with the app is to have forms, that the user can fill in (fast and easy, if it takes time and is cumbersome, then people will not use it).
a. GPS can record were it happened (this isn't data that is needed for the research, it is just something that can alert the user that they have had problems there before. As to be careful, not to get sick. And if it persists in the same place, perhaps someone will be able to make a good sample with a sensor for further studying.).
b. You could keep track on how you are feeling day-to-day and moment-to-moment. This will give subjective data on how much effect a specific exposure had (combined with the objective measurement of the device). This was mainly meant to record exposure that is in the air, but there is nothing preventing us from adding more types of data, because you can have many more intolerances than just the ones that could be breathed in,
3. Ones there is enough gathered information, there will hopefully be possible to come to some new conclusions that wasn't possible before. And if not, then the wearer of the device will at least have a device that can warn them about things that will make them sick, even if they themselves don't feel int yet, so that they can get out of harms way.
*This is the evaluation board (https://eu.mouser.com/new/bosch/bosch-evalbd-bme688-board/) and complete kit (https://eu.mouser.com/ProjectManager/ProjectDetail.aspx?AccessID=78592c0171). It might be possible to build something a little bit cheaper than the kit, but at 64 Euros it is already pretty cheap.
*The BME688 sensor (https://eu.mouser.com/new/bosch/bosch-bme688-ai-gas-sensor/) and BME690 one (https://www.bosch-sensortec.com/products/environmental-sensors/gas-sensors/bme690/).
1. To build a small, cheap wearable device, to record objective data.
2. To create an app to record subjective data.
3. To use the information to find common denominators, to figure out what substances MCS sufferers react to and to look at available research about those substances to figure out what part of the body/cells etc that they are known to affect and how.
1. As technology progresses we get better, smaller, cheaper electronics. One such device is the Bosch BME688 AI Gas Sensor (apparently just upgraded to BME690)*. This will of course not replace, multi thousand dollar, lab equipment but I don't think that it matters in this case. The sensor can be used to make ground truth measurements for a common database. This is isolated compounds, that any friend, family member etc could help scan into the database (this is one of the things that I hoped the scientists would have done). If you know that you react to a specific product (consisting of many products), then you can get that scanned to. it will help with the research and the device can warn you if it ever senses it being in your vicinity.
I don't know for sure, but hopefully as the database gets better, you could encounter something new and if most of the substances is already in the database, you can filter out dose and try to figure out what the unknown ones is (this is one of the areas where AI could be helpful, the other is that Bosch claims that their sensor software uses AI in the first place).
2. The app doesn't need to be connected to the device. It could record data and then be uploaded separately and then be uploaded through a computer. But then again electronics is cheap and you need some type of small chip to control the sensors anyway, so it is likely that it will have Bluetooth and then you can transfer data in real time. The main point with the app is to have forms, that the user can fill in (fast and easy, if it takes time and is cumbersome, then people will not use it).
a. GPS can record were it happened (this isn't data that is needed for the research, it is just something that can alert the user that they have had problems there before. As to be careful, not to get sick. And if it persists in the same place, perhaps someone will be able to make a good sample with a sensor for further studying.).
b. You could keep track on how you are feeling day-to-day and moment-to-moment. This will give subjective data on how much effect a specific exposure had (combined with the objective measurement of the device). This was mainly meant to record exposure that is in the air, but there is nothing preventing us from adding more types of data, because you can have many more intolerances than just the ones that could be breathed in,
3. Ones there is enough gathered information, there will hopefully be possible to come to some new conclusions that wasn't possible before. And if not, then the wearer of the device will at least have a device that can warn them about things that will make them sick, even if they themselves don't feel int yet, so that they can get out of harms way.
*This is the evaluation board (https://eu.mouser.com/new/bosch/bosch-evalbd-bme688-board/) and complete kit (https://eu.mouser.com/ProjectManager/ProjectDetail.aspx?AccessID=78592c0171). It might be possible to build something a little bit cheaper than the kit, but at 64 Euros it is already pretty cheap.
*The BME688 sensor (https://eu.mouser.com/new/bosch/bosch-bme688-ai-gas-sensor/) and BME690 one (https://www.bosch-sensortec.com/products/environmental-sensors/gas-sensors/bme690/).