HEALS – Can sensor technologies really define the exposome [HEALS]

The advent of the exposome concept (i.e., assessing the totality of exposures through the life
course) and the advancement of mobile technology, sensors, and the “internet-of-things”
bring exciting opportunities to exposure science. Smartphone apps, wireless devices and
the downsizing of monitoring technologies and costs make it possible for various
environmental stressors and exposure factors to be measured more easily and frequently,
thus providing a more reliable “time–geography of exposure” shifting the current paradigm
from a population to an individual level. The Health and Environment-wide Associations
based on Large population Surveys (HEALS) project is examining the possibilities of
incorporating sensor technologies for measuring environmental stressors from the external
exposome in a cohort study. These technologies are evolving quickly, and while they
provide great promise for advancing exposure science, many are still in development stages
and their use in epidemiology and risk studies must be carefully considered. The possibility
of accessing an unprecedented amount of “individualized exposure data,” which could
greatly improve our understanding of exposure and health associations also comes with
various limitations and challenges. These are discussed and the way forward is laid out.
The conclusion is that a mix of available sensor technologies and conventional exposure
assessment methods is most feasible at this time for characterising the external exposome.