US 2023/0408519 A1 · Method and Apparatus for Detecting Bacterial, Viral and/or Parasitic Diseases

Abstract

Apparatus for detecting the presence in an enclosed environment of a subject or subjects infected with viral, bacterial and/or parasitic disease or diseases, the apparatus comprising: (a) an air sampling unit (1) able to take an air sample of the atmosphere in the enclosed environment and to divert said sample for sensing; (b) a selected definitive sensor set (9) comprising at least two sensors reactive to the presence of specific odours or Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the air sample taken from the environment; (c) a processing unit (10) comprising a pattern recognition analyser, wherein the pattern recognition analyser receives output signals of the sensor set, compares them to disease—specific patterns derived from a database of response patterns of the sensor set exposed to the totality of the bodily emissions of subjects with known disease or diseases, wherein each of the disease-specific patterns is characteristic of a particular disease, selected from bacteriological, viral and parasitic disease, and selects a closest match between the output signals of the sensor set and the disease-specific pattern; and (d) a control system that triggers the sampling of the air space of the environment at pre-determined times or intervals for rendering the apparatus entirely automatic and self-contained in operation, wherein the air sampling unit comprises: a surface (2) for capturing VOCs from the air sample; and a heater (3) for heating the surface to release captured VOCs when diverting the air sample for sensing.

Claims20

Dependent claims

Apparatus for detecting the presence in an enclosed environment of a subject or subjects infected with viral, bacterial and/or parasitic disease or diseases, the apparatus comprising:

(a) an air sampling unit able to take an air sample of the atmosphere in the enclosed environment and to divert said sample for sensing;
(b) a selected definitive sensor set comprising at least two sensors reactive to the presence of specific odours or Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the air sample taken from the environment;
(c) a processing unit comprising a pattern recognition analyser, wherein the pattern recognition analyser receives output signals of the sensor set, compares them to disease-specific patterns derived from a database of response patterns of the sensor set exposed to the totality of the bodily emissions of subjects with known disease or diseases, wherein each of the disease-specific patterns is characteristic of a particular disease, selected from bacteriological, viral and parasitic disease, and selects a closest match between the output signals of the sensor set and the disease-specific pattern;
and
(d) a control system that triggers the sampling of the air space of the environment at pre-determined times or intervals for rendering the apparatus entirely automatic and self-contained in operation,
wherein the air sampling unit comprises:
a surface for capturing VOCs from the air sample;
and a heater for heating the surface to release captured VOCs when diverting the air sample for sensing.

5 more elements

A method of diagnosing, screening or monitoring the presence of a viral, bacterial and/or parasitic disease or diseases in a test subject in a non-invasive manner by sampling the atmosphere around the subject in an enclosed environment, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing apparatus comprising:
(i) an air sampling unit able to take an air sample of the atmosphere in the enclosed environment and to divert said sample for sensing, the air sampling unit comprising a surface for capturing Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from the air sample;
(ii) a selected definitive sensor set comprising at least two sensors reactive to the presence of specific odours or VOCs in the air sample taken from the environment;
and (iii) a database of response patterns of the sensor set exposed to a totality of bodily emissions of subjects with known disease or diseases, wherein each of the disease-specific patterns is characteristic of a particular disease, selected from bacteriological, viral and parasitic disease;
(b) capturing on the surface of the air sampling unit VOCs from an air sample, the VOCs being selected from the group consisting of breath samples, urine samples, vaginal samples, faeces samples, tissue samples, eructation samples, flatulence samples and any other samples having a bodily origin of the test subject;
(c) heating the surface to release captured VOCs and diverting the released VOCs to the sensor set;
(d) measuring the output signals of the sensor set upon exposure to the said sample;
(e) comparing the output signals using a pattern recognition analyser to the database-derived disease-specific patterns;
and
(e) selecting the closest match between the output signals of the sensor set and the database-derived disease-specific patterns.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method and Apparatus for Detecting Bacterial, Viral and/or Parasitic Diseases

Life of this patent

Method and Apparatus for Detecting Bacterial, Viral and/or Parasitic Diseases

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20