Wearable Sensors for Respiratory Protection in Occupational Settings

Details

• Journal Article:
  Journal of Safety Research
• Personal Author:
  Devkota, Jagannath ; Sharma, Hom N.
• Description:
  Introduction: Wearable sensors are emerging as potential safety tools for protecting the respiratory health of workers across industries. Method: This review summarizes recent research and technological advances in wearable sensors that enable continuous monitoring of respiratory metrics, including personal respiratory health and environmental exposure, across diverse workplaces. The review highlights the integration of these sensors into respirators and face masks for real-time monitoring of respiratory status, exposure, and device integrity. To illustrate the practical implications, the paper discusses representative case studies from high-risk sectors, including mining, firefighting, healthcare, construction, and oil and gas. Results: This review reveals that, although several types of wearable respiratory sensors are available for public use, only a few are specifically tailored for occupational respiratory protection. Efforts toward field validation, standards development, user acceptance, and regulatory compliance are needed to translate prototypes into practical tools for occupational risk mitigation. Conclusions: The future of workplace respiratory safety will also benefit from the integration of these sensors with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things, and computer vision. Practical Applications: This study provides an overview of the current state of wearable respiratory sensors, identifies outstanding challenges that hinder their widespread adoption in occupational settings, and outlines potential avenues for future research to translate them into validated occupational safety tools.
• Subjects:
  Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory System Safety Wearable Electronic Devices
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Exposure Monitoring; Industrial Hygiene; Personal Health Monitoring; Real-time Sensors; Respiratory Hazards; Smart PPE Sensors; Wearable Technologies; Emerging Technology; Respiratory Health; Monitoring Systems; Personal Protective Equipment; PPE; Respiratory Protection; Environmental Monitoring; Safety Monitoring;
• Source:
  J Safety Res 2026 Jun; 97:218-234
• ISSN:
  0022-4375
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Pennsylvania ; Philadelphia Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  NPPTL - National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  17 pdf pages
• Volume:
  97
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071406
• Contact Point Address:
  Jagannath Devkota, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 626 Cochrans Mill Rd., Pittsburgh, PA 15236, United States
• Email:
  jdevkota@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:48749e8a07667bd6cc90e06adc7007c03f6a06d539bb14d31e88b6ef1e5c0d4d5c66520876f0fb4cb7330e40458be8436b37466fc1fd0124335695c82bf211a2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/259006/cdc_259006_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 4.63 MB ]