SmART-Form
question:smart-form

**Smartphone App for Residential Testing of Formaldehyde (SmART-Form): a community science effort to measure formaldehyde in the home environment.** ### Project Basics The main goal of this project is to design a low-cost, accessible system for measuring formaldehyde concentrations in residential environments. We'll accomplish this using emerging technology involving novel chemical reaction harnessing and color intensity algorithms created for a smartphone app. There are two main components involved in the detection system: * The BADGE has a reactive surface, to be unwrapped and placed in the home for 72 hours, during which time in changes color if there is formaldehyde present (this is developed and manufactured by Morphix Technologies). * The APP contains a function to quantify the color-change of the badge, and relate that intensity of color-change to an airborne formaldehyde concentration (this is led by Ohio State University); see https://github.com/publiclab/SmART-Form. You can download the beta versions of the app for [Andriod ](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.osu.siyang.smartform&hl=en)and [iPhone](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/smart-form/id1259194780?mt=8). ### Next up: Community testing This formaldehyde detection system is ready to be tested by community members! The first place we'll engage folks to test this badge + app system is in Ware County, Georgia. This community case study will serve a dual purpose, of exploring whether or not this system is useful and has potential for broad uptake by communities with potential formaldehyde exposures, and of investigating formaldehyde concentrations within and among different neighborhoods in Ware County and possible factors contributing to those formaldehyde concentrations. **** To see the latest progress on this project, please search the [tag “smart-form”](/tag/smart-form). To receive updates on this project, click the button labelled `Follow smart-form` on that page. **** #### Questions [questions:smart-form] **** #### Activities [activities:smart-form] ### Who is working on this? The SmART-Form project is a collaboration among researchers at Ohio State University, the Building Energy and Environmental Systems Laboratory at Syracuse University, and Public Lab. ### Project Background This project is made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation. More information about the grant and scoping of this project can be found in [this research note](https://publiclab.org/notes/nshapiro/10-17-2016/public-lab-awarded-nsf-funding-to-help-develop-low-cost-community-formaldehyde-monitoring-technique) by Open Air Fellow Nick Shapiro. The first project report can be found in [this research note](https://publiclab.org/notes/nshapiro/09-04-2017/smartphone-app-for-residential-testing-of-formaldehyde-smart-form-interim-report). More information about the development of the app's user interface can be found [here](https://publiclab.org/notes/nshapiro/01-23-2018/refining-the-user-interface-of-a-community-science-app) and addition app information can be found on [Ohio State University’s SmART-Form page](https://u.osu.edu/smartform/). ### Indoor formaldehyde Formaldehyde is a colorless, flammable gas that can have significant health impacts. Formaldehyde is a common component in adhesives and resins used frequently in building materials, and is found in many household products including cosmetics and detergents. Exposure to formaldehyde can result in respiratory irritation, headaches, and nausea, and chronic exposure can be carcinogenic. For a quick summary of formaldehyde exposure basics, please see the [ASTDR’s ToxFAQs for Formaldehyde](https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/TF.asp?id=219&tid=39). For much more in-depth information, please see the [ASTDR’s Toxicological Profile for Formaldehyde](https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp.asp?id=220&tid=39). ### Regulating and remediating indoor formaldehyde Residential indoor and outdoor ambient air formaldehyde are not regulated in the United States. With known severe health impacts, it is important that people be able to monitor and mitigate their own exposure to formaldehyde, especially as we cannot rely on a regulatory body to do so. In this project, we are developing a free smartphone application that will read a low-cost colorimetric formaldehyde sensor (developed by Morphix Technologies) to quantify the concentration of formaldehyde in the air. Our goal is to create an accessible way for individuals to assess their exposure to formaldehyde. [Other ongoing projects](https://publiclab.org/wiki/diy-indoor-air-quality-remediation-kit) seek to develop accessible formaldehyde remediation potential. ...


Author Comment Last activity Moderation
Ag8n "Thank you for your answer. There are a lot of questions about color, interferences, number of tests being done, etc. That we could go back and for..." | Read more » about 6 years ago
Ag8n "Thank you for your response. I'll try to keep everything in the original thread. " | Read more » about 6 years ago
gretchengehrke "Hi @Ag8n, I just now responded to this question in your other question thread. The validation work is being conducted at BEESL at Syracuse Universi..." | Read more » about 6 years ago
gretchengehrke "hi @Ag8n, the validation work is being conducted by the Building Energy and Environmental Systems Laboratory at Syracuse University. The protocol i..." | Read more » about 6 years ago
Ag8n "Thank you for your reply. I looked at the paper referenced. The pump modifications look very good! Glad to hear you are in the validation phase...." | Read more » about 6 years ago
gretchengehrke "@Ag8n, our goal is to have this system be less expensive and more sensitive than Draeger tubes. The pumps recommended for Draeger tubes are often v..." | Read more » about 6 years ago
warren "Maybe @gretchengehrke or @nshapiro can chime in on this one? Thanks! " | Read more » about 6 years ago
liz "Thanks! from that note, i see that Design of the application will be led by Karen Dannemiller (PI) and Rongjun Qin (Co-PI) at Ohio State Universit..." | Read more » over 6 years ago
gretchengehrke "Hi @liz, The SmART-Form project is a collaboration between engineering faculty at Ohio State University and Syracuse University, a public health n..." | Read more » over 6 years ago