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Review of Wearable and Portable Sensors for Monitoring Personal Solar UV Exposure
Sunlight is one of the main environmental resources that keeps all the organisms alive on earth. The ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is essential for vitamin D synthesis in the human body, which is crucial for bone and muscle health. In addition, sun exposure also helps to reduce the risk of some cardiovascular diseases and cancers. However, excessive UV exposure can lead to adverse effects, including some eye diseases, premature aging, sunburn and skin cancers. The solar UV irradiance itself depends on many environmental factors. In fact, the UV index reported in weather forecasts is an estimation under cloudless conditions. Personal UV exposure also depends on one’s outdoor activities and habits. Furthermore, the UV intake depends on the skin sensitivity. Therefore, there is a need for research into monitoring the optimal daily UV exposure for health benefits, without developing potential health risks. To facilitate the monitoring of solar UV intensity and cumulative dose, a variety of UV sensors have been developed in the past few decades and many are commercially available. Examples of sensors being marketed are: portable UV dosimeter, wearable UV radiometer, personal UV monitor, and handheld Solarmeter®. Some of the UV sensors can be worn as personal health monitors, which promote solar exposure protection. The paper provides a comprehensive review of the wearable and portable UV sensors for monitoring personal UV exposure, including a discussion of their unique advantages and limitations. Proposals are also presented for possible future research into reliable and practical UV sensors for personal UV exposure monitoring.
History
Preferred citation
Huang, X. & Chalmers, A. N. (2021). Review of Wearable and Portable Sensors for Monitoring Personal Solar UV Exposure. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 49(3), 964-978. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-020-02710-xPublisher DOI
Journal title
Annals of Biomedical EngineeringVolume
49Issue
3Publication date
2021-03-01Pagination
964-978Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLCPublication status
PublishedOnline publication date
2021-01-11ISSN
0090-6964eISSN
1573-9686Language
enUsage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
Ultraviolet radiationSunburnSkin cancerUV sensorUV dosimeterUV detectorUV monitorUV radiometerHumansRadiation MonitoringSunlightUltraviolet RaysWearable Electronic DevicesClimate-Related Exposures and ConditionsPrevention3 Good Health and Well BeingEngineeringMedical and Health SciencesBiomedical Engineering