Packed Bed Breath Aerosol Capture for Rapid Respiratory Diagnosis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current diagnostic methods for respiratory diseases like COVID-19 and tuberculosis face challenges due to the inefficiency of collecting and analyzing exhaled breath aerosols, leading to high costs, invasiveness, and prolonged analysis times, which are unsuitable for rapid and widespread screening.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a packed bed column with adsorbent materials to capture aerosolized particles from exhaled breath, coupled with mass spectrometry for rapid analysis, allowing for efficient collection and characterization of nonvolatile biomolecules.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If sputum analysis is used for TB diagnosis, then diagnostic accuracy is improved, but patient comfort deteriorates and sampling difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the diagnostic analysis from invasive sputum samples and applies it to non-invasive exhaled breath aerosols. The packed bed system captures biomolecules directly from breath, eliminating the need for sputum induction while maintaining diagnostic capability through detection of disease-specific biomarkers in aerosolized breath components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces exhaled breath aerosol as an intermediary medium between the patient and the diagnostic system. Instead of directly analyzing sputum, the system captures and analyzes biomolecules aerosolized from exhaled breath, serving as a less invasive proxy that maintains diagnostic information while improving patient comfort and sampling ease.
2Reliability
If conventional diagnostic methods are used, then diagnostic capability is achieved, but analysis time increases and cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential diagnostic function from complex conventional methods and implements it through a simplified packed bed capture system coupled with rapid analysis. By focusing on capturing and analyzing specific biomarkers in exhaled breath rather than processing entire sputum samples, the system reduces analysis time while maintaining diagnostic reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the sample matrix parameter from liquid sputum to aerosolized breath, and changes the analysis approach from complex microbiological processing to direct biomarker detection. This parameter transformation enables faster analysis while preserving diagnostic capability, as the aerosol phase allows for more rapid processing and detection methods.
3Measurement precision
If sputum collection is required, then diagnostic information is obtained, but patient accessibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the diagnostic information requirement from invasive sputum collection and fulfills it through non-invasive breath analysis. The packed bed system captures sufficient biomolecular information from exhaled aerosols to enable diagnosis, eliminating the need for patients to perform difficult sputum induction maneuvers and improving accessibility for all patient populations including children and elderly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses exhaled breath aerosol as an intermediary that makes diagnosis accessible to all patients regardless of their ability to produce sputum. This intermediary medium naturally exits the respiratory system without requiring patient cooperation or effort, thereby universalizing patient accessibility while maintaining diagnostic information quality through detection of disease-specific biomarkers.
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 rapid, low-cost, and non-invasive detection of respiratory diseases with high sensitivity and specificity, suitable for point-of-care testing and active case finding.
Implementation Method 1
A system utilizing a packed bed column with adsorbent materials to capture aerosolized particles from exhaled breath
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and devices for capturing and analyzing aerosolized particles in exhaled breath characteristic of a respiratory disease to enable rapid, low-cost point of care assays for several diseases including respiratory tract diseases such as COVID-19 are disclosed. The disclosed methods and systems selectively capture aerosolized particles using a packed bed column. The captured particles are then eluted using solvents and analyzed using analytical devices including MALDI-TOFMS.