Nitric Oxide Breath Analyzer

In work funded by a Phase I NIH SBIR grant, a fast response NO detector is under development for human breath measurements.  The concentration of NO in breath has been shown in clinical studies to be highly correlated with inflammation in asthma patients.  We are working with a partner company to develop low cost clinical and home-use instruments for measuring NO in breath.  Such instruments can be used both as an aid in the diagnosis of asthma and for the management of the dose of medication used to control the inflammatory response.

Personal Ozone Monitor

2B Techologies has received a Phase I SBIR grant from the National Center for Environmental Health of NIH to further miniaturize our UV ozone measurement technology.  The goal is to develop a pocket-sized ozone monitor having the same precision and accuracy as our Model 202 Ozone Monitor™ for use in studies of personal exposure of individuals to ambient ozone during daily activities.

Rapid Iodine Analyzer

Iodine deficiency disorders are a significant global concern, affecting over 740 million people in 130 countries.  Although salt iodization programs have been effective in reducing iodine deficiency disorders, there remains a serious lack of quantitative tools for population assessment of iodine deficiency, the monitoring of iodine-induced hyperthyroidism, and the verification of iodine concentrations in salt.  Upon successful demonstration of a prototype instrument during the Phase I project, 2B Technologies received a Phase II SBIR grant from the Centers for Disease Control to develop a portable, inexpensive analyzer for measuring iodide in both urine at the low ppb level and in table salt at much higher concentrations.  In June 2009, 2B Tech will be seeking collaborators around the world to test and evaluate the Rapid Iodine Analyzer™for iodine measurements.

Carbon Monoxide Monitor

Perhaps the most needed new detector for atmospheric research at present is a portable instrument capable of measuring CO at the low ppbv level.  Development of a Carbon Monoxide Monitor is a high priority for our future product line.  We are exploring several ideas for ways to measure CO with high precision and accuracy and hope to introduce a product in the not too distant future.

Carbon Dioxide Monitor

A new CO2 monitor based on speed of sound measurements is under development at 2B Technologies.  The presence of CO2 changes the average molecular weight of air and therefore the speed at which sound propagates through the sample.  To date, our work has demonstrated a precision of ~0.1% or 0.4 ppmv for CO2 in air.  This work was an outgrowth of work in John Birks' research group on vertical profiling of CO2 through the atmospheric boundary layer using powered parachutes and light aircraft (Schulz et al., 2004)*.  The principal advantages over the widely used non-dispersive IR method (e.g., LiCor) are insensitivity to pressure and its low flow rate requirement (10-30 cc/min).

*Schulz, K., M.L. Jensen, B.B. Balsley, K. Davis and J.W. Birks, “Tedlar Bag Sampling Technique for Vertical Profiling of Carbon Dioxide through the Atmospheric Boundary Layer with High Precision and Accuracy,” Environmental Science and Technology 38, 3683-3688 (2004).