At-Home Blood Pregnancy Test Kit with Push-Button Reagent Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pregnancy tests, particularly blood tests, are not suitable for home use, requiring a lab setting and lacking convenience and privacy, while urine tests are less accurate and detect pregnancy later than blood tests.
Innovation Solution
A portable blood pregnancy test kit that includes a housing with a sample strip for blood absorption, a test pad for hCG detection using a sandwich immunoassay with two antibodies, and a push button to release a reagent, displaying results through a test window with plus or minus signs for hCG presence.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a blood test is performed in a doctor's office, then measurement precision and reliability are improved, but ease of operation and convenience deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential blood test components (sample pad, conjugate pad with reagent, test pad with antibodies) and places them in a portable housing that can be used at home. The complex laboratory equipment is removed, leaving only the critical immunological reaction components that can function independently in a consumer setting.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a push-button mechanism as an intermediary that controls the release of the reagent from the conjugate pad. This simple mechanical intermediary enables the user to initiate the test without requiring laboratory equipment or专业技术操作, bridging the gap between home convenience and laboratory-grade accuracy.
2Ease of operation
If a urine test is used at home, then ease of operation is improved, but measurement precision and detection timing deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a device that performs the high-precision function of a laboratory blood test while maintaining the accessibility and ease of use of a home urine test. The housing integrates sample collection, reagent delivery, and result display into a single universal device that can be operated by any user at home.
3Measurement precision
If a blood test is performed in a laboratory, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the blood test system into discrete functional components: a sample pad for blood application, a conjugate pad containing the reagent, a test pad with immobilized antibodies, and a control mechanism. Each component is simplified and optimized for its specific function, reducing overall complexity while maintaining analytical precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs the test kit as a disposable unit with a housing that contains all necessary components for a single test. This eliminates the need for expensive, complex laboratory equipment that must be maintained and calibrated, replacing it with a simple, single-use device that achieves comparable accuracy at lower cost.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables accurate and early detection of pregnancy in the home setting, providing a convenient and private method for measuring hCG levels, overcoming the limitations of existing blood tests by allowing at-home use with high accuracy and ease of use.
Implementation Method 1
The sample strip is adapted to absorb a blood sample and deliver it to the sample pad via capillary action or the like
Implementation Method 2
The reagent includes a first antibody, which can bind with any hCG antigens present in the blood when the blood and the reagent are combined, creating a blood-reagent mixture
Implementation Method 3
The test portion includes a second antibody that is labeled, such as with dye. The dye is activated when the second antibody binds with the hCG antigens
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is an at-home blood pregnancy test kit that can identify the presence of hCG in a blood sample to detect pregnancy in female mammals. The present kit includes a housing having a sample strip that is in fluid communication with a sample pad for holding a blood sample, a test pad, and a conjugate pad. The housing further includes a test window and a push button for releasing a reagent that can react with hCG. The reagent and the test pad include antibodies that can bind with hCG antigens to detect presence of the same. The test window is adapted to display a symbol that indicates a negative pregnancy test result in the absence of hCG, or display a symbol that indicates a positive pregnancy test result in the presence of hCG.