The MIRTHE Roadmap Report is available for download.
Please click here to access it.
- MIRTHE Admin
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Monday, November 30, 2009
Roadmap FAQ
What is MIRTHE?
MIRTHE, or Mid-InfraRed Technologies for Health and the Environment, is a world-class interdisciplinary team of engineers, chemists, physicists, environmental and bioengineers, medical doctors and educators working together to develop mid-infrared optical trace gas sensing systems. It is based in six universities, namely
What is the
Last June MIRTHE began an internal project dedicated to finding the best ways to create useful and inexpensive quantum cascade laser (QCL) based sensors for use in trace gas spectroscopy. Through a collaborative effort amongst MIRTHE researchers, faculty members and industry partners, we created a report to highlight the most important applications, and the technology required to develop effective sensors.
What is in the report?
The report contains a market assessment of the trace gas sensing market, an extensive description of the applications where QCL based sensors could be used, a summary of technology challenges each application presents for sensors, and it details MIRTHE’s goals for prototype and laser development in the next few years.
What does this report include that the Wintergreen Mid-IR sensing report does not?
The Wintergreen Report is a casual overview of the field of trace gas sensing, with predictions on how the markets will grow. Our report is not strictly market analysis, but rather a game plan for sensor development dependent upon a detailed understanding of the field.
What are some of the conclusions of the report?
We have included an “executive summary” section which details much of this, but within the next few years, we suggest MIRTHE work to develop 3.2 and 16 micron QCLs, a shoebox-sized sensors which can detect ammonia on exhaled breath, and a PDA sized CO/CO2 sensor with wireless networking capabilities.
How is this report to be used?
Its primary purpose is to drive MIRTHE research, and expand upon what technology breakthroughs MIRTHE should be working on in the future. This is important information for companies interested in QCL based sensing, as the work MIRTHE is doing will undoubtedly have an impact on their futures. It is relevant for investors and individuals wanting to invest in mid-IR based sensors, as it goes into detail describing the sensors and applications. And finally, it is important for companies investing in trace gas sensors, as MIRTHE’s efforts will be changing the market structure.
How is this report being distributed?
It is available for purchase through theFriday, November 6, 2009
The final days of the report!
Hi Folks,
Sorry for the delay in posts- I have now finished writing another draft of the Roadmap Report, and am sending it to MIRTHE individuals for comment. Also, I am working on making it a prettier report, as 56 pages of 1.5 spaced text, as helpful and useful as it may be, is overwhelming. Also, I am working on determining how we distribute the report. All that and more will be determined soon.
Any questions or ideas, please shoot me an email.
-Peter
Sorry for the delay in posts- I have now finished writing another draft of the Roadmap Report, and am sending it to MIRTHE individuals for comment. Also, I am working on making it a prettier report, as 56 pages of 1.5 spaced text, as helpful and useful as it may be, is overwhelming. Also, I am working on determining how we distribute the report. All that and more will be determined soon.
Any questions or ideas, please shoot me an email.
-Peter
Friday, October 9, 2009
Wintergreen Mid-IR Report
Once again, I spent almost all week working on the roadmap report, so I have very little news or questions to post on this blog. However, I thought I would make good use of this space and comment on the Wintergreen Research report, “Worldwide Nanotechnology Mid IR Sensor Market Shares, Forecasts, and Strategies, 2009-2015.” I figure for those who read this blog, such a report may be of interest. Unfortunately, I cannot endorse the quality or usefulness of the report. While I cannot present evidence to better argue my points due to copywrite issues, I can strongly suggest not purchasing the report.
For one, its substance consists of either material copied and pasted from the websites of Mid-IR companies, or summaries which are poorly written, grammatically incorrect, or contain blatant factual errors. Furthermore, while it does provide certain predictions (including specifics about how areas of the market are expected to grow), it provides no justification for these figures, or analysis of, for example, which companies/applications within the markets will be successful take off. Finally, the report is unnecessarily long. In many cases, pixilated images of lasers or detectors occupy full pages, artificially lengthening the report.
No matter your background or what you are looking for, I cannot recommend purchasing this report for any reason. If you have any doubts, I would strongly encourage you to ask for a sample of the material before purchase.
If you have any questions about the report from someone who is doing similar research to the work the report should have done, feel free to email me at pschram@Princeton.EDU.
For one, its substance consists of either material copied and pasted from the websites of Mid-IR companies, or summaries which are poorly written, grammatically incorrect, or contain blatant factual errors. Furthermore, while it does provide certain predictions (including specifics about how areas of the market are expected to grow), it provides no justification for these figures, or analysis of, for example, which companies/applications within the markets will be successful take off. Finally, the report is unnecessarily long. In many cases, pixilated images of lasers or detectors occupy full pages, artificially lengthening the report.
No matter your background or what you are looking for, I cannot recommend purchasing this report for any reason. If you have any doubts, I would strongly encourage you to ask for a sample of the material before purchase.
If you have any questions about the report from someone who is doing similar research to the work the report should have done, feel free to email me at pschram@Princeton.EDU.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Roadmapping Continues
There’s not much to report on the roadmap process for this week- I’ve been writing the report mostly, and the main news I have is that it will be pretty long. When my friends ask about the report, I explain to them how it’s like writing a thesis on a subject which I didn’t major in. But, what I am putting into the roadmap is not really my ideas: they are the ideas of those within MIRTHE, complied for the first time in one place. For that reason, I am very confident in the work that I am doing now.
Three major events in the news reminded me of how the work we are doing at MIRTHE is relevant to things beyond the scientific community. First, the Senator John Kerry and Barbara Boxer presented a revised clean energy bill, which would radically shift the United States’ policy towards GHG mitigation. Second, a secret Iranian nuclear facility received national spotlight, as the use of such a facility is a direct violation of international law and is a disturbing violation of international efforts towards nonproliferation. Finally, on the U.S. health insurance front, the public option has been left off the latest form of the bill, meaning insurance reform will be the primary goal of lawmakers and the bill.
GHG Mitigation: QCL based sensors could be the answer to monitoring polluting facilities.
Iranian Nuclear Facilities: To run tests on uranium samples in question, a handheld uranium hexafluoride detector would be highly beneficial.
Health Care: Cheaper treatments are a way of the future. Instead of having blood drawn and lab work conducted, we propose breathing into a tube, waiting a minute, and getting results. Simple, fast and effective treatment is our goal.
And now, back to the roadmap. Currently on page eighteen (single-spaced).
Three major events in the news reminded me of how the work we are doing at MIRTHE is relevant to things beyond the scientific community. First, the Senator John Kerry and Barbara Boxer presented a revised clean energy bill, which would radically shift the United States’ policy towards GHG mitigation. Second, a secret Iranian nuclear facility received national spotlight, as the use of such a facility is a direct violation of international law and is a disturbing violation of international efforts towards nonproliferation. Finally, on the U.S. health insurance front, the public option has been left off the latest form of the bill, meaning insurance reform will be the primary goal of lawmakers and the bill.
GHG Mitigation: QCL based sensors could be the answer to monitoring polluting facilities.
Iranian Nuclear Facilities: To run tests on uranium samples in question, a handheld uranium hexafluoride detector would be highly beneficial.
Health Care: Cheaper treatments are a way of the future. Instead of having blood drawn and lab work conducted, we propose breathing into a tube, waiting a minute, and getting results. Simple, fast and effective treatment is our goal.
And now, back to the roadmap. Currently on page eighteen (single-spaced).
Friday, September 25, 2009
MIRTHE, Sensor Networks, and TED
This week I’ve been doing a lot of work on environmental monitoring, when I came across a series of videos from the recent TED Conference. One video I found particularly interesting was the following:
http://www.ted.com/talks/stewart_brand_proclaims_4_environmental_heresies.html
Steward Brand, author of The Earth Catalog, speaks on the ways humanity is changing. Most interesting was his discussion on the rapid process of urbanization where 1.4 million people per week leave the agrarian lifestyle and move to cities to inhabit the shantytowns.
There are many problems with the new urban lifestyle. Human wastes, trash, crime and vice are all some of the darker sides of the new urban lifestyle. However, for better or for worse, at this point 1 billion people currently inhabit these improvised communities outside the cities, and this number is growing at a rapid rate.
Of course, as this is the MIRTHE Roadmapping Blog, I continue to ask “what does this mean for MIRTHE?”
MIRTHE is developing the tools to understand urban air pollution, as well as what environmental factors mean for pollution and air toxicity. Chemicals are virtually everywhere in our lives, and yet in many cases we lack a fundamental understanding of how they interact with our bodies and our environment. Urbanization and the increase in population density means many more people will be exposed to the same toxins in the same area; without an understanding of how civilization interacts with the environment, governments and urban planners will struggle to make their cities cleaner, healthier, and less toxic for its inhabitants.
Sensor networks are a very interesting possibility for this research. By distributing a network of sensors to detect for common pollutants like ozone, N2O or NOx, scientists could better understand how cities produce, recycle and transform the wastes they create. With this knowledge, contemporary cities could be re-imagined new cities could be designed. However, there is the first step to making and distributing these sensors.
For this reason, I am putting a strong emphasis within the MIRTHE Roadmap to build and deploy sensor networks. I believe once demonstrations have occurred, government organizations and scientists will see the benefit of such an endeavor, and begin constructing networks of their own. But, it has to start somewhere.
http://www.ted.com/talks/stewart_brand_proclaims_4_environmental_heresies.html
Steward Brand, author of The Earth Catalog, speaks on the ways humanity is changing. Most interesting was his discussion on the rapid process of urbanization where 1.4 million people per week leave the agrarian lifestyle and move to cities to inhabit the shantytowns.
There are many problems with the new urban lifestyle. Human wastes, trash, crime and vice are all some of the darker sides of the new urban lifestyle. However, for better or for worse, at this point 1 billion people currently inhabit these improvised communities outside the cities, and this number is growing at a rapid rate.
Of course, as this is the MIRTHE Roadmapping Blog, I continue to ask “what does this mean for MIRTHE?”
MIRTHE is developing the tools to understand urban air pollution, as well as what environmental factors mean for pollution and air toxicity. Chemicals are virtually everywhere in our lives, and yet in many cases we lack a fundamental understanding of how they interact with our bodies and our environment. Urbanization and the increase in population density means many more people will be exposed to the same toxins in the same area; without an understanding of how civilization interacts with the environment, governments and urban planners will struggle to make their cities cleaner, healthier, and less toxic for its inhabitants.
Sensor networks are a very interesting possibility for this research. By distributing a network of sensors to detect for common pollutants like ozone, N2O or NOx, scientists could better understand how cities produce, recycle and transform the wastes they create. With this knowledge, contemporary cities could be re-imagined new cities could be designed. However, there is the first step to making and distributing these sensors.
For this reason, I am putting a strong emphasis within the MIRTHE Roadmap to build and deploy sensor networks. I believe once demonstrations have occurred, government organizations and scientists will see the benefit of such an endeavor, and begin constructing networks of their own. But, it has to start somewhere.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
A Great Resource
While it is a little bit old, the book "Disease Markers in Exhaled Breath," edited by Marczin and Yacoub, is a phenomenal resource to get an overview of breath analysis, and read papers on VOCs, CO and NO. I had the fortune of stumbling upon it today, and it is tremendously helpful for someone who is looking to better understand the biology of exposure and disease, and what it means for exhaled breath.
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