High Alert Institute

SOLAR  AQUAPONIC  HEATING  &  COOLING

Electricity costs are responsible for as much as 95% of the expense of maintaining fish habitats. This is true for zoos, aquariums, fish farms, water gardens, filtered ponds, and private owners alike. The High Alert Institute is working with developers to reduce both the cost and the carbon fuel consumption associated with these aquatic environments.

Second to circulation, the cost of energy for heating and cooling the water is the largest portion of an aquatic or aquaponic system’s operating budget. Filtered swimming pools can be heated and cooled using rooftop solar collectors. However, using such systems for aquatic habitats is problematic: the amount of organic material would lead to bacterial overgrowth and aquatic animal illness.

The High Alert Institute has developed two solutions to reduce the cost of sustaining aquatic habitats. One is an adaptation of existing technology used for household and recreational water systems. And the second is based upon the Institute’s patent-pending solar hybrid system used for pools and spas.

Making Existing Technology Food and Fish Safe
Open-source, closed-loop water systems have a glazed solar hot water heater collector that is paired with a temperature-controlled pump, transferring heat to the water via an immersion coil. But such systems often rely on circulating antifreeze to deliver or remove heat. This would not be appropriate for fish habitats, as the potential for leaking presents a health risk for fish and consumers of fish. By substituting the usual circulating liquid with common vegetable oil, though, the system is transformed into a food-and-fish-safe option. Conversely, an immersion system can cool the habitat by circulating the oil through the collector at night. The end result is a dramatic difference in energy used for temperature regulation by the system. This is less than 1% of the energy required by conventional electric heaters and chillers. Such a system would be ideal for retrofitting nearly any size habitat and can be used when roof space for solar is limited.

High Alert Institute Hybrid System
In this patent-pending open-loop system, standard pool solar heating collectors are employed as both solar heat collectors by day and as radiant heat disbursers by night. As with the hybrid solar pool system, the backless solar panels form a glazed collector box over and around the pool solar panels, increasing heating efficiency for aquatic habitats. When an aquatic habitat is too warm, filtered habitat water is cooled by circulating through the collector at night. This system option would be ideal for yielding maximum energy efficiency and is intended for use with new installations or to retrofit specified types of configurations.

POND EMERGENCY SYSTEM

When disaster strikes, most aquatic pet owners have limited options to secure the safety of their pets. If there is no power to provide aeration, pond fish like koi die quickly and pet-friendly shelters do not have accommodations for our finned friends. Transporting pond fish from their home pond is also not without risk. Provided that floods, toxic gases, and earthquakes are not part of the disaster, pond owners may opt to shelter in place with their finned friends. But even when evacuation is necessary, the ability for many owners to take their pond pets with them would be a significant challenge.
The greatest risk to the fish is loss of electrical or generator power, as most ponds rely on mechanical aeration and filtration. Working with aquatic equipment providers, the Institute designed the Pond Emergency System. This multi-purpose system is comprised of a solar-powered aeration and filtration module that is stored in its own transport tank.
When sheltering in place, the floating module can be placed into the pond to provide aeration and filtration during hours of sun exposure. If the pond layout permits, the module can be connected to the tank lid, which has a built-in battery to extend module usage during hours of darkness. This same module also floats on the water inside the transport tank beneath the lid, if the fish are to be shipped to an aquatic animal rescue/shelter, with the lid’s battery providing aeration and filtration during transport time. As an added benefit, the Pond Emergency System can double as an emergency fish tank or an isolation tank, in cases of pond structure issues or sick/quarantined fish.

AI-based Decentralized Interglobal Medical Expert System (AI-DIMES)

Healthcare professionals, insurers and governments have long sought to identify “best practices” based on real-world outcomes of treatments in patients based on their electronic medical records. While many programs and research studies have endeavored to accomplish such reviews on a small scale, efforts to expand these evaluations have been stymied by privacy concerns, patient autonomy issues and even national data boundaries. efforts hand. The AI-based Decentralized Interglobal Medical Expert System (AI-DIMES) Working Group is authoring a framework for artificial intelligence-based algorithms designed to evaluate the outcomes of patient treatments from electronic medical records while complying with privacy regulations, maintaining patient autonomy and respecting national data boundaries. We at the Institute are honored to join esteemed colleges from Singularity, Kemper University, and the International Space Court Foundation in this endeavor.
The open-source framework for decentralized healthcare AI outcomes database powering expert systems is an implementation model based on Katzenberg’s Six-level healthcare AI concept (2017). In the DIMES-WG model, personal AI engines for each individual would correlate individual demographics and medical data with diagnoses, treatments, Determinants of Health (Doha), outcomes, adverse events, and failure modes using a blockchain model for privacy and anonymization (Level 1 & 3 Healthcare AI). Each healthcare provider would have a similar personal AI engine correlating the outcomes, adverse events, failure modes, etc., within each provider’s patient population (Level 2 Healthcare Informatics AI. Competitive AI Natural Language Processing engines interrogate the peer-reviewed and preprint scientific literature correlating outcomes data with regulatory databases for adverse events, failure modes, recalls, and advisories (Level 4 Healthcare AI). Using a combination of Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Swarm Learning, these personal & provider AI engines then correlate data the data from Levels 1, 2, 3 & 4 to compile a decentralized interglobal (intergalactic) database of healthcare outcome predictors that power an Expert System (software as medical device or SaMD) that advises healthcare providers and patients on possible diagnoses with relative probability; treatment options with a personalized probability of success/side-effects; and trade-offs for less optimal options that fit patient preference and lifestyle better thus supporting patient autonomy and choice (Level 5 Healthcare AI). Finally, for austere environments on Earth and in space, the ability to initiate or independently assist in treatment (Level 6 Healthcare AI/ML system). Such a Level 6 Healthcare AI/ML system is no longer a SaMD under the control of a licensed provider but a new type of provider.

Environmental Restoration – Abatement of Fluorinated Hydrocarbons

For more than 120 years, fluorinated hydrocarbons (FHCs) have been part of our world. The strength of the chemical bond between fluorine and carbon atoms in FHC compounds has led to the development of many products that are durable and resistant to other chemicals. Stain repellents, fire retardants, nonstick cookware, and coolants are a few examples of common materials made from FHCs. The same property that makes FHCs so valuable, however, is also what makes disposing of them so challenging. And understanding the biological activities, metabolism, degradation, and possible environmental hazards of FHCs is therefore critical. 

The High Alert Institute has partnered with Five Bugles Institute and INSP for the FHC Project4Good. The purpose of the FHC Project4Good is to:

• Educate and Raise Awareness in the general public for the environmental impact of FHCs and PFAS in an All Hazards, One Health/One Nature, One Framework paradigm.
• Educate and Raise Awareness among environmental not-for-profits, agencies and NGOs for the environmental solutions/benefits of SCWO technology in an All Hazards, One Health/One Nature, One Framework paradigm.
• Match SCWO technology providers from INSP with Environmental not-for-profits, agencies and NGOs to address specific habitat cleanup opportunities
• Reduce the environmental, health, climate and societal impact of FHCs and PFAS through the systematic removal of FHCs and PFAS using SCWO technology.

FHC are potent greenhouse gasses, and some form toxic compounds that can accumulate in the environment. One type of FHC, the ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), has now been widely banned under the Montreal Protocol, but the two other main types also present environmental problems. One of them is now used instead of CFCs as a coolant in refrigerators and air-conditioning units. Where such refrigerants leak into the environment, they function as greenhouse gasses that are a thousand times more potent than carbon dioxide.

FHCs are potent greenhouse gasses and are responsible for enormous quantities of fluoride ions being released into the biosphere. To date, only one type of FHC has been banned (chlorofluorocarbons) but there are hundreds still in widespread production and use. And all form toxic compounds that can accumulate in the earth-bound environment. One type of FHC familiar to many people is used as a coolant in refrigerators and air-conditioning units. When these consumer or industrial products leak into the air or soil, the FHC gasses released are a thousand times more potent than carbon dioxide.

FHCs are used in many medical applications, such as coatings on surgical equipment and in the manufacture of materials used for medical treatment and devices. These same compounds comprise a majority of firefighting foams and are a by-product of the aluminum industry. FHCs are toxic and accumulate in all aspects of the food chain. The impact of these compounds on the risk of cancer, birth defects, and other health problems has become a growing field of research. Of particular emphasis in the news lately has been a type of FHC known as PFAS, which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. PFAS is but one FHC found in water, air, fish, and soil at locations around the globe and has been linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals. 

The impact of removing FHCs from the environment, as well as the enormous task of doing so, can only be appreciated by first exploring the often unappreciated and pervasive spread of FHCs. Pollution abatement processes have been developed to rapidly break down FHCs, destroying the build-up of chemicals that would otherwise persist for decades or centuries. These proven, on-site solutions are able to destroy over 99.99% of FHCs in contaminated air, water, and soil without creating secondary waste or storage of byproducts. Yet acceptance and use of these solutions remains an uphill battle.

Supercritical oxidation processes can rapidly break down FHCs that do not oxidize readily at standard temperatures and pressures, destroying chemicals that would otherwise persist for decades or centuries in the environment including:  

• Landfill Leachate – A proven on-site solution that destroys over 99.99% of FHCs in contaminated landfill leachate without creating secondary waste.
• Wastewater – Destroys FHCs to non-detect levels in contaminated wastewater. Working on-site and only producing inert salts eliminates the need for incineration or storage of byproducts.

A supercritical fluid is a substance held at a temperature and pressure above its critical point. In this state, the fluid is neither a liquid nor a gas and has properties of both. Substances begin to act differently above the critical point. Supercritical water is highly expandable and compressible. Without distinct liquid and gas phases, mass transfer is unrestricted, facilitating chemical reactions. Using supercritical water oxidation technology (SWTO) to fight the contaminants has heretofore unobtainable benefits: 

• Proven complete destruction of PFAS, regardless of carbon chain length or structure
• Versatile SCWO technology can treat any FHC or PFAS concentration or matrices
• No unwanted or harmful byproducts, no contaminant transfer, no need for HAZMAT storage.
• Equally effective on common organic co-contaminants (petroleum, hydrocarbons, chlorinated solvents)
• Uses inexpensive oxidation and neutralization chemicals
• Can operate on house or generator power and is not energy intensive

HYBRID SOLAR POOL SYSTEM

The Institute is actively involved in taking a new product to market to benefit owners of an existing or new installation of solar heating systems used for their pool or spa. As a result, owners in a variety of climates would be able to extend their season of heated water for these activities without increasing their carbon footprint. Most roofs have limited space in the optimal location for solar collectors. This puts solar heater systems for pools and spas in competition for optimal placement with other solar equipment, such as solar electric panels and solar hot water heaters. In sunny climates, optimally placed and sized solar systems for heating pools and spas provide sufficient heat for 70% – 100% of the year. Average climate solar markets, by comparison, generate sufficient heat for pools and spas only 60% – 70% of the time using the same systems. When in climate zones subject to freezing temperatures, such systems provide usage less than 50% of the year.
The Hybrid Solar Pool System is a patent-pending approach to improve solar energy collection, combining backless solar PV panels with standard pool water heating systems in the same roof space. Depending upon budget or convenience, the hybrid system can be installed all at once or in stages and costs about the same if the two collection systems were installed individually. The end result is an extension of the pool and spa season up to 80% – 100% of the year in non-freeze climates and greater than 60% of the year in climate zones subject to freezing. And the payback period for the hybrid system is about the same as a standard solar PV system (less than 7 years) – but with the lifestyle advantage of significantly extending the pool and spa season without supplemental heating bills.

POCKETSTREAM – HYDRATION AT THE PUSH OF A BUTTON

As climate change creates an increasing need for hydration and habitat destruction creates an increasing scarcity of potable water, effective hydration is proving to be more difficult for a wide range of people. When added to a disability, illness or infirmity, inadequate hydration because a major health challenge.

People with disabilities, those who are bedridden, and anyone who has difficulty reaching, holding, or carrying water to their mouth will be pleased to know that Agape Venture, LLC (another Institute partner) has dedicated its resources to making the vital task of hydration less of a challenge. In fact, POCKETSTREAM makes staying hydrated easier and supports independence at the same time.

POCKETSTREAM is an assistive technology for people with hydration challenges. Functioning as a portable drinking fountain, POCKETSTREAM’s patented rechargeable hydration delivery system is an effortless experience for children to seniors. With its wide array of reusable straw configurations to fit a variety of needs, staying well hydrated has never been easier.

CYANIDE ANTIDOTE DELIVERY METHODS

Cyanide is an extremely toxic poison and a major contributor to death from smoke inhalation. In the absence of rapid and adequate treatment, exposure to a high dose of cyanide can result in death within minutes. Signs and symptoms of acute systemic cyanide poisoning may develop within minutes, depending upon the route and extent of cyanide exposure. Hydroxocobalamin, a relative of vitamin B12, is an effective antidote for cyanide poisoning. While hydroxocobalamin is typically administered by intravenous infusion, research has demonstrated that large doses of hydroxocobalamin can be administered intranasally, intrarectally, and even by inhalation. The CyanoStat system is the Institute’s open-source approach to the intranasal, intrarectal, or inhalation administration of hydroxocobalamin antidote for cyanide exposure.

BUILDING VENTILATION SYSTEMS & STANDARDS

SARS-CoV2, the causative virus for COVID-19 and the global pandemic, demonstrated the ease with which illnesses can be spread by recirculated air in even the most modern of buildings. COVID-19 also provided unprecedented evidence of the health effects of air quality on acute illness and infection. Starting before the pandemic, the High Alert Institute was working with corporate partners to support mitigation of the impact of these Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) via air quality responsive whole-building ventilation.

The Institute’s headquarters offices benefit from a proof-of-concept whole building ventilation control system. This controller not only improved HVAC efficiency by 40% but also helped the Institute maintain a “COVID Bubble”, protecting both immunocompetent and immunocompromised Institute staff and Board Members. We also joined our corporate sponsors in calling for Whole Building Ventilation Standards to protect those who live, work, shop, play, and worship in homes, high-rises, and buildings of all sizes from indoor pollutants and airborne illnesses.

PORTABLE PERSONAL EMR

Our very first project for good was in a portable personal electronic medical record (EMR), contained in a wearable USB drive. The goal was to provide increased patient autonomy and patient safety by placing the consolidated medical record in the patient’s hands and in their control. Based on an idea proposed by W. David Stephenson of Stevenson Strategies in a September 26, 2006 blog entry, he suggested that people carry their medical records on secure U3-enabled USB drives. Such devices were already embedded in credit card-sized wallet drives, wrist watches, necklaces, key rings, pens, and every manner of business sundry.

Healthcare professionals would not be inclined o look for a USB drive in a patient’s pockets but a USB drive watch, wrist band, pendent or wallet card was an appealing merger of form and function. To quote Mr. Stephenson, having such a product on hand during a disaster would be “a literal and figurative lifesaver, because you’d not only have your medical records in hand, but also all of your critical applications and business files as well.”
Unfortunately, by 2008, most healthcare systems had implemented cybersecurity protocols that precluded the use of non-facility and unapproved USB devices with healthcare facility computers. Today, there is still no consolidated personal medical record but advances in Block-Chain technology are bringing us closer to this major advance for patient autonomy and patient safety. Some day in the not-too-distant future, every patient will have access to a single consolidated health record to share with every member of their healthcare team.