Identifying illicit drugs and their metabolites using a portable electroanalytical system
First Claim
1. A system for determining the presence of a chemical substance in an environment, the system comprising:
- at least one sensor configured to;
detect one or more chemical substances in the environment, wherein the one or more chemical substances are illicit drugs and/or their metabolites,conduct one or more electrochemical tests, wherein;
each of the one or more electrochemical tests are performed on each of one or more chemical samples in the environment, by applying current to the one or more samples and measuring an electric potential of the one or more samples, andgenerate one or more electrical signals corresponding to the one or more chemical samples in the environment;
at least one computing device, with at least one processor, configured to;
receive and process the one or more electrical signals corresponding to the one or more samples from the environment, wherein at least one mobile device compares the electrical signals to;
electrical signals corresponding to stored profiles of known chemical substances in the environment to determine if a match exists;
electrical signals corresponding to baseline threshold values of known chemical substances expected in the environment to determine if there is an excess or lack of one or more of the known chemical substance;
orthe electrical signals corresponding to both the stored profiles and baseline threshold values of the one or more of the known chemical substances in the environment;
display an alert on the at least one mobile device to confirm or deny the presence of the chemical substance; and
an ampoule, containing a liquid that is coupled to a swab that may be used to collect samples from the environment, wherein;
the liquid may be an electrolyte that is dispersed on the swab after a portion or the entire ampoule is broken, the swab may be used to collect the samples from the environment, and a plurality of electrodes may be configured to generate the electrical signals corresponding to the one or more samples from the environment.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
This disclosure describes methods, apparatuses, and systems to determine the presence of a chemical substance in an environment, by detecting one or more chemical substances in the environment by using at least one sensor that performs one or more electrochemical tests on one or more chemical samples in the environment, and generates one or more electrical signals corresponding to the chemical samples in the environment. The methods, apparatuses, and systems may also receive and process the one or more electrical signals corresponding to the one or more samples from the environment, wherein the methods, apparatuses, and systems compare the electrical signals to electrical signals corresponding to profiles of known chemical substances in the environment to determine if a match exists. The methods, apparatuses, and systems may compare the electrical signals to baseline threshold values of known chemical substances in the environment to determine if there is an excess or lack of the chemical substance. The methods, apparatuses, and systems may compare the electrical signals to both the stored profiles and baseline threshold values of known chemical substances in the environment to determine if known chemical substances are present in the environment. The methods, apparatuses, and systems may display an alert to confirm, deny, or require further testing to confirm or deny the presence of known chemical substances.
4 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A system for determining the presence of a chemical substance in an environment, the system comprising:
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at least one sensor configured to; detect one or more chemical substances in the environment, wherein the one or more chemical substances are illicit drugs and/or their metabolites, conduct one or more electrochemical tests, wherein;
each of the one or more electrochemical tests are performed on each of one or more chemical samples in the environment, by applying current to the one or more samples and measuring an electric potential of the one or more samples, andgenerate one or more electrical signals corresponding to the one or more chemical samples in the environment; at least one computing device, with at least one processor, configured to; receive and process the one or more electrical signals corresponding to the one or more samples from the environment, wherein at least one mobile device compares the electrical signals to; electrical signals corresponding to stored profiles of known chemical substances in the environment to determine if a match exists; electrical signals corresponding to baseline threshold values of known chemical substances expected in the environment to determine if there is an excess or lack of one or more of the known chemical substance;
orthe electrical signals corresponding to both the stored profiles and baseline threshold values of the one or more of the known chemical substances in the environment; display an alert on the at least one mobile device to confirm or deny the presence of the chemical substance; and an ampoule, containing a liquid that is coupled to a swab that may be used to collect samples from the environment, wherein; the liquid may be an electrolyte that is dispersed on the swab after a portion or the entire ampoule is broken, the swab may be used to collect the samples from the environment, and a plurality of electrodes may be configured to generate the electrical signals corresponding to the one or more samples from the environment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A mobile device storing computer-readable instructions which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the operations comprising:
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detecting and storing an electrical signal, from at least one sensor corresponding to one or more chemical samples of an environment, in at least one memory, wherein the one or more chemical samples comprises one or more chemical substances that are illicit drugs and/or their metabolites; retrieving a stored electrical signal, from the at least one memory corresponding to one or more chemical substances in the environment; comparing the electrical signal to known responses corresponding to predetermined chemical substances in the environment using at least one comparative analysis technique; determining if the chemical sample from the environment corresponds to one or more of the predetermined chemical substances based at least in part on the comparison of the electrical signal to the known responses; and displaying on a display, one or more icons or text confirming or denying the presence of the chemical substances in the environment. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification