Challenge
Every year, thousands of Flemish people die prematurely due to air pollution. These premature deaths are also just the tip of the iceberg. Air pollution is linked to heart disease, lung cancer and even dementia.
The exposure of the Flemish population is currently determined on the basis of the home address (static exposure). In reality, we move around and spend a lot of time in different places. Recent developments in air quality measurements and modeling make it possible to start a path towards dynamic, personal exposure.
Preliminary market research shows us that there is a clear need for this with applications for local and regional policy, health research and awareness.
This innovation process will therefore develop a toolset for mapping personal exposure:
- information tool: provides citizens with information about their personal exposure, including an analysis of peaks and alternatives to reduce exposure
- validation tool: allows researchers to test calculated data against different types of air quality measurements (validate and improve models)
- exposure tool: aggregates the collected data to do further interpretation and gain insights, e.g. exposure hotspots, exposure different profiles (e.g. commuters), …
Various steps in this development also have broader potential. That is why this toolset will also become a starting point for valorization for the Flemish innovation sector with:
- a personal exposure app, which can be integrated into, for example, sports or weather apps
- platforms for realizing mobile measurements, for example together with citizens
- tools that aggregate exposure data so that they can be used, for example, for policy support purposes.
The project can give an important boost to the “mobile health” market, which has a potential of 149 million euros.
