On a visit to mainland China, health sciences professor and medical doctor Uwe Reischl was surprised to learn that one of the country’s most prevalent public health issues was exposure to formaldehyde gas. It was happening by way of materials used in the country’s residential and commercial construction and it was a growing concern.

“I was surprised because I thought we had resolved the formaldehyde issue years ago,” he said. “It turns out they knew how to measure formaldehyde gas but they didn’t know how to get rid of it.”

Fast forward six years, and Reischl and business partner Lynn Russell, emeritus faculty member and founding dean of the College of Engineering, have developed a device that both detects the gas — known to be a carcinogen — and signals a ventilation system to remove it from the air.

Reischl and Russell worked closely with Boise State’s TECenter to develop the technology and a business plan for their company, DC Group International Inc. They rented industrial space at the Nampa center that allowed them to build a full-scale apartment unit and test ventilation strategies. They also hired Boise State graduate students as consultants.

The two are now in discussions with distributors in Asia to market their unique product. The detection technology also has potential in the United States given the growth of the green building industry and the evolution of the digital home — the device can be plugged into a laptop and monitor and log air quality to assure a safe breathing environment.

“Our goal is to manufacture the product here in Idaho,” Reischl said.

For more on their product, visit www.dcgroupinternational.com/index.html.

Reischl and Russell also were recently featured in the Idaho Business Review. To read the full story, click here.