System and Method for Drug Detection in Exhaled Breath

• US 20120302907A1
• Filed: 09/09/2010
• Published: 11/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sensa Bues AB
• Original Assignee: Sensa Bues AB
• Inventors: Palmskog, Göran, Beck, Olof
• Granted Patent: US 10,520,439 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/532
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/082 Evaluation by breath analysis, e.g. determination of the chemical composition of exhaled breath A61B5/083, A61B5/091 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/097 Devices for facilitating collection of breath or for directing breath into or through measuring devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/412 Detecting or monitoring sepsis
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 1/08 having inward flow
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 5/048 Form or construction
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2220/62 with energy recovery turbines
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2240/301 Cross-sectional characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2240/40 Use of a multiplicity of similar components
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2250/51 Inlet
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/44 Raman spectrometry; Scattering spectrometry ; Fluorescence spectrometry
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/658 enhancement Raman, e.g. surface plasmons
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/497 of gaseous biological material, e.g. breath

Abstract

A portable system (10) is disclosed for collecting a sample from exhaled breath of a subject. Drug substance in the exhaled breath are detected or determined. The sample is collected for further analysis using mass-spectroscopy. The system comprises a sampling unit (14) and a housing (12) arranged to hold the sampling unit (14), the sampling unit (14) is adapted to collect non-volatile and volatile compounds of the at least one drug substance from the exhaled breath from the subject. The housing (12) has at least one inlet (15) for the subject to exhale into the housing (12) to the sampling unit (14) and at least one outlet (16) for the exhaled breath to exit through.

Claims

1. A portable system configured to collect a sample from exhaled breath of a subject, and for detecting the presence or determining the quantitative amount of at least one drug substance in said exhaled breath,

said system being adapted to collect said sample for further analysis using mass-spectroscopy, said system comprising:

a sampling unit and a housing arranged to hold said sampling unit,

said sampling unit is adapted to collect at least one of non-volatile and volatile compounds of said at least one drug substance from said exhaled breath from said subject; and

wherein said housing comprises at least one inlet for said subject to exhale into said housing to said sampling unit and at least one outlet for said exhaled breath to exit through

2. The system according to claim 1, comprising a detachable mouthpiece element connectable to said inlet in communication with said housing element.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said housing is a SPE cartridge.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein said housing is a sorbent tube.

5. The system according to claim 1, comprising a pump, wherein said pump is arranged downstream said sampling unit.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the pressure drop through said system is not higher than 2 cm water.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein said sampling unit comprises at least one filter membrane.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein said filter membrane has a mesh size to collect particles from said exhaled breath with a size of 0.2-0.7 μ

m.

9. The system according to claim 7, wherein said filter membrane is configured such that a pressure drop of less than 2 cm water occurs between said inlet and outlet at a exhalation flow rate of about 0-9 litre/min.

10. The system according to claim 7, wherein said collected particles from said filter are analyzable by said mass-spectroscopy.

11. The system according to claim 7, wherein said filter membrane is a electrostatic filter membrane.

12. The system according to claim 7, wherein said at least one filter membrane comprises at least two filter membranes configured to discriminate between at least two different drug substances.

13. The system according to claim 1, wherein said sampling unit comprises at least one SPME-cartridge to be further analyzed using GC-MS.

14. The system according to claim 1, wherein a compartment for collecting at least one of saliva or condensate is disposed between said at least one inlet and said sampling unit and/or after said sampling unit and said at least one outlet.

15. The system according to claim 1, wherein said at least one of non-volatile or volatile compounds of said at least one drug substance in said exhaled breath are compounds that can pass from the subjects blood via the lung membrane.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein said drug substance comprises at least one of Amphetamine, ecstasy, Cannabis, THC and cannabinoids, Opiates, heroin, morphine, 6-AM, Cocaine, Benzodiazepines, Propoxyphene, Methadone, Buprenorphine, Tramadol, LSD, Designer/Internet drugs, Kathinon, GHB, Meprobamat, Z-drugs, Tryptamines, Anabolic steroids, Alcohol, or markers for alcohol.

31. The method according to claim 15, wherein said drug substance comprises at least one of Amphetamine, ecstasy, Cannabis, THC and cannabinoids, Opiates, heroin, morphine, 6-AM, Cocaine, Benzodiazepines, Propoxyphene, Methadone, Buprenorphine, Tramadol, LSD, Designer/Internet drugs, Kathinon, GHB, Meprobamat, Z-drugs, Tryptamines, Anabolic steroids, Alcohol, or markers for alcohol.

17. A method for portably collecting a sample from exhaled breath of a subject, and for detecting the presence or determining the quantitative amount of at least one drug substance in said exhaled breath, said method comprising:

collecting said sample comprising at least one of a non-volatile or volatile compound from said subject, using a system comprising a sampling unit and a housing arranged to hold said sampling unit, wherein said sampling unit is adapted to collect at least one of non-volatile and volatile compounds of said at least one drug substance from said exhaled breath from said subject, and in said housing comprises at least one inlet for said subject to exhale into said housing to said sampling unit and at least one outlet for said exhaled breath to exit through; and

analyzing said collected sample using mass-spectroscopy.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein said collecting comprises collecting at least one of non-volatile or volatile compounds of said at least one drug substance from said exhaled breath from said subject in a sampling unit held in a housing of said system.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein said collecting comprises said subject exhaling into at least one inlet of said housing to said sampling unit and further to at least one outlet to exit from said housing.

20. The method according to claim 17, comprising generating suction by means of a pump arranged downstream said sampling unit.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein said suction is assisting said subject to pass said exhaled breath through said sampling unit.

22. The method according to claim 17, wherein a flow of said exhaled breath is generating a pressure drop not higher than 2 cm water over said sampling unit.

23. The method according to claim 17, comprising collecting at least one of saliva or condensate from said exhaled breath using a compartment arranged between said at least one inlet and said sampling unit and/or after said sampling unit and said at least one outlet.

24. The method according to claim 17, comprising discriminating between at least two different drug substances by means of at least two sampling elements.

25. The method according to claim 17, comprising collecting said sample using at least one filter membrane arranged in said sampling unit.

26. The method according to claim 25, further comprising collecting said sample by means of a filter membrane having a mesh size of 0.2-0.7 μ

m.

27. The method according to claim 25, further comprising collecting said sample by means of a filter membrane having pressure drop of less than 2 cm water occurring between said inlet and outlet at a exhalation flow rate of about 0-9 litre/min.

28. The method according to claim 17, comprising arranging a modified SPE-cartridge as said housing.

29. The method according to claim 17, comprising collecting said sample using at least one SPME-cartridge arranged in said sampling unit.

30. The method according to claim 17, wherein said at least one non-volatile or volatile compounds of said at least one drug substance in said exhaled breath are compounds that can pass from the subject'"'"'s blood via the lung membrane.

32. The method according to claim 17, wherein said method comprises on-intrusive breath testing of a subject for drug substances.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising performing said testing of said subject without sampling blood or urine.