Retractable Sheath Sample Probe for Sealed Powder Screening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for detecting illicit substances in sealed containers are risky, time-consuming, and pose health hazards to law enforcement personnel, and there is a need for a safe and efficient way to collect and analyze samples without opening the containers.
Innovation Solution
A disposable collection probe with a sharpened needle and retractable sheath that allows safe penetration of sealed containers to extract particulate material, integrated with a chamber for preliminary screening and optional on-board reagents for immediate analysis, ensuring safe handling and chain of custody.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If law enforcement personnel open sealed containers by puncturing or cutting to sample material, then they can obtain samples for testing, but they face health hazards from exposure to illicit substances and risk of accidental injury from sharp objects
Solution Approach 1:
A disposable collection probe with sheath acts as an intermediary tool between the law enforcement personnel and the sealed container. The probe penetrates the container seal and retrieves samples without requiring personnel to directly manipulate sharp objects or expose themselves to potential hazards inside the container.
Solution Approach 2:
The collection probe is designed as a disposable single-use tool. Each probe is pre-sharpened and sealed in protective packaging, used once to penetrate the container and collect samples, then discarded. This eliminates the need for cleaning, sterilization, or maintenance and ensures each tool is in pristine condition for its sole use.
2Productivity
If law enforcement personnel manually open containers to collect samples, then they can obtain material for analysis, but the process is time-consuming and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The collection probes are pre-sharpened and pre-packaged in sterile, sealed containers before deployment. This preliminary preparation eliminates the time-consuming steps of sharpening knives, sterilizing tools, and manually opening seals during field operations. Law enforcement personnel simply remove the probe from its packaging and use it immediately.
3Ease of operation
If sharp objects are used to open sealed containers, then access to interior material is achieved, but accidental cutting injuries can occur
Solution Approach 1:
The collection probe serves as a safe intermediary that performs the dangerous function of penetrating sealed containers. The probe's sharp tip is enclosed in a protective sheath during handling and storage, and the entire probe is disposed of after single use, eliminating risks associated with reusing sharp tools.
4Reliability
If containers are tightly sealed to prevent odor detection, then illicit materials are concealed, but sampling requires destructive opening that compromises the seal
Solution Approach 1:
The collection probe extracts only a small sample of material from the container interior through the sealed opening, leaving the majority of the container seal intact. This allows sampling without fully opening or destroying the container, preserving chain of custody evidence and maintaining seal integrity for potential future analysis.
Data Source
AI summary
A sample collector for extracting a particulate material specimen from a container includes a needle for puncturing the container and capturing an amount of specimen inside a chamber in mechanical communication with the needle. A spring-loaded continuously and progressively retractable and extendable sheath protects the tip of the needle from inadvertent contact with a human user and encloses the puncture site on the container during collection. A preliminary screening test for illicit substances can be conducted on part of the collected specimen to determine whether the container should be confiscated. Part of the collected specimen can be preserved for later confirmatory testing.