Comparison of Controlled Field Test Aerosol Generation Devices to a Laboratory Device

Abstract : Biological aerosol detectors are used as early-warning devices to alert personnel to the presence of airborne biological threats. Fielded bioaerosol detectors must be checked periodically with threat-simulant aerosols to confirm their functionality. Two field aerosol generators were available for testing: confidence checker units (CCUs; Flir Systems, Inc.; Elkridge, MD) and puffers, also known as pressurized metered dose inhalers (U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD). In this study, the characteristics of the aerosol output from the field aerosol generators were compared to those of a laboratory aerosol generator, the ink-jet aerosol generator (IJAG). In this study, two similar custom-made proprietary aerosol detectors were used to compare the inter- and intravariability of challenge aerosols generated by eight CCUs, six puffers, and one IJAG. Ten challenges from each aerosol generator were provided to each detector, and the detector responses and alarm statuses were recorded. This report presents the test results and conclusions, which indicate that the CCU outputs had the greatest variability, and the IJAG outputs had the least variability.