A group of University of Connecticut engineering students recently donated over 100 homemade air purifiers to the Connecticut Veteran’s Administration Medical Center. The purifiers, designed as part of the College of Engineering’s Indoor Air Quality Initiative, will be distributed to veterans across the VA network at clinics in Newington, West Haven and Rocky Hill.
The students delivered the purifiers to the Newington clinic with support from neuroimmunology specialists at UConn Health Center and from State Senator Matt Lesser, who has contributed to public health and climate change policy reform for Connecticut.
Dr. Ashish Adlahka, director of the VA’s Headache Centers of Excellence said, “This could be a significant step towards understanding and mitigating the impact of air quality on veterans’ health,” in a UConn Today article.
According to a study commissioned by the VA, veterans are more likely to develop migraines or headache disorders. UConn student research is trying to find the link between air quality and headache disorders, and the donated purifiers will be used to help study the benefits of improved indoor air quality. Prior findings indicate the “Corsi-Rosenthal” purifier design also helps to mitigate fine particles in the air and improve fire safety. The box-based design is also meant to be inexpensive and easy to build.
“This is a wonderful example of a UConn cross-campus initiative,” said Marina Creed, director of the UConn Indoor Air Quality Initiative and a nurse practitioner at the UConn Health Center. “The end goal [is to] provide support and innovative solutions to debilitating health challenges.”
The initiative also allows medical students to use the data collected in use of the homemade purifiers and track results to further understanding of air quality and its health effects. This delivery isn’t the first of its kind; UConn engineering students have also constructed and donated over one thousand homemade air purifiers to Hartford and Coventry Public School districts, CCMC Asthma Program and the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, amongst others.
For students looking for more information on air quality and its health effects, and how to build their own air purifier, visit the Indoor Air Quality Initiative webpage at indoorairquality.initiative.uconn.edu.