Silicon Chip Breath Sampling for Non-Invasive Diagnostics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current sampling techniques for detecting respiratory tract infections, such as throat swab samples, are invasive, uncomfortable, and may be risky for certain patients, while existing biosensor-based detection methods are limited in effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A collecting device comprising a monolithic silicon chip with patterned impaction channels and a cover that defines sample inlet and outlet openings, allowing for the capture of particulate matter from exhaled breath through impaction, followed by analysis using thermocycling and light-based detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional swab sampling methods are used for detecting respiratory tract infections, then diagnostic accuracy can be maintained, but patient comfort deteriorates and sampling safety worsens due to invasive procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts only the essential function of pathogen detection from the complex swab sampling procedure. By collecting particulate matter containing pathogens directly from exhaled breath through impaction channels, the method eliminates the invasive swab insertion and removal steps while maintaining diagnostic accuracy for detecting respiratory tract infections
Solution Approach 2:
The silicon chip with impaction channels serves as an intermediary device that captures particulate matter from breath. This intermediary structure allows indirect sampling of respiratory pathogens without direct contact with the patient's respiratory tract, thus maintaining diagnostic capability while improving patient comfort and safety
2Productivity
If integrated sampling and analysis device is used, then diagnostic speed improves and patient comfort improves through non-invasive breath sampling, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges multiple functions (sampling, particulate matter collection, and analysis preparation) into a single integrated silicon chip device. The chip combines impaction channels for particle collection with structures for subsequent thermocycling analysis, enabling fast diagnostic processing while consolidating device components to manage complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The silicon chip is designed as a multi-functional component that performs both sampling/collection and analysis preparation functions. The same chip structure handles breath particulate matter collection and serves as the substrate for thermocycling analysis, reducing the need for separate devices and accelerating the overall diagnostic process
3Ease of operation
If breath sampling is used instead of swab sampling, then patient comfort improves and sampling safety improves, but sampling effectiveness may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The impaction channels in the silicon chip are designed to utilize the mechanical dynamics of exhaled breath flow. The channel geometry and T-junctions create conditions where particulate matter in the breath is mechanically separated and captured through impaction forces, ensuring effective collection of pathogen-containing particles from the breath sample
Solution Approach 2:
The device changes the sampling parameter from direct contact with respiratory tract surfaces (swabs) to collection from exhaled air particles (breath). By capturing particulate matter that contains pathogens rather than collecting cellular material, the method maintains sampling effectiveness while dramatically improving patient comfort and safety
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
The device enables fast and accurate detection of respiratory tract infections by efficiently collecting and analyzing particulate matter from breath samples, providing a non-invasive and sensitive diagnostic solution.
Implementation Method 1
the chip comprising at least two opposite sides and a top surface (2T) and an opposite thereto bottom surface (2B), wherein the bottom surface (2B) is closed allowing contacting with a heating source and wherein the top surface (2T) comprises a plurality of patterned impaction channels (21) for capturing particulate matter present in the sample
Implementation Method 2
wherein the bottom surface (2B) is closed allowing contacting with a heating source
Implementation Method 3
a transparent zone (3211) that covers an area of the top surface (2T) of the chip (2), which area comprises the one or more of T-junctions (211) for presenting said area to light-based detection of an analyte possibly captured in said one or more of T-junctions (211)
Data Source
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AI summary
The field of the invention generally relates to sample collection, for example of a sample being an exhaled breath. In particular, an integrated device is disclosed herein comprising a silicon chip for sampling particulate matter from a sample and for analysis, preferably by a protocol using thermocycling, of the particulate matter as collected from the sample. Further, point-of-care (PoC) and self-use analysis systems compatible with the integrated device, and methods related to sample collection and/or analysis using the same, are also disclosed.