Ocean Optics Offers Portable Closed-path Air Monitoring System

UV Hound Sniffs Out Toxic Compounds in Ambient Air Monitoring Applications

Dunedin, Fla., March 2005 - The UV Hound, a portable point sampling air monitor, is now available from Ocean Optics. The self-contained UV system can simultaneously detect, quantify and identify up to twenty toxic airborne compounds at concentration to parts-per-billion. The UV Hound is just 33" long and weighs less than 30 lb. One person can easily deploy the compact, lightweight system in minutes. The UV Hound can be mounted on to a vehicle for emergency response monitoring, or placed in a fixed location for industrial hygiene monitoring, or for survey monitoring.

At the heart of the UV Hound is an Ocean Optics HR2000 High-resolution Spectrometer. The HR2000 instantly resolves the fine spectral features of hazardous toxics including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, benzene, mercury, toluene, xylene, ammonia, formaldehydes and more. The UV Hound’s internal folded-path optical design enables a 25-meter pathlength for monitoring these toxics at concentration well below regulatory threshold levels.

The UV Hound works by drawing ambient air continuously into the system’s intake vent. The air is passed through an optical analysis chamber, analyzed using a UV absorbance method, and then expelled. Target gases in the air are detected and reported instantaneously. Microsoft Windows-based software allows for compound selection, continuous automated monitoring display, and data logging of targeted gas concentration. The system can be verified at any using optional gas calibration standards.

The UV Hound connects to the USB port of any PC and is powered via a 110/220 VDC transformer or the system’s rechargeable battery.

Ocean Optics offers the UV Hound, including software and a full spectral library of chemicals, for $35,000 U.S.

Contact an Ocean Optics Applications Scientist