Spiral Specimen Collection Stick for Faster, Fiber-Free Sampling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional swabs for specimen collection cause discomfort due to prolonged insertion times, risk of fiber separation, and inadequate specimen collection, leading to reduced examination accuracy.
Innovation Solution
A specimen collection stick with a screw blade or collection disks on a flexible hub, designed for efficient specimen collection without a fiber layer, allowing for quicker collection and improved safety by eliminating fiber separation risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a fiber layer is used for specimen collection, then the specimen can permeate through the layer, but the collection process takes prolonged time causing subject discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the fiber layer from the swab structure entirely, extracting only the essential function of specimen collection. The collection unit uses a solid matrix without fibrous material, eliminating the need for prolonged permeation time while maintaining specimen collection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of allowing the specimen to passively permeate through fibers, the invention inverts the approach by using a solid collection surface that actively collects specimen through contact and adhesion, reversing the traditional passive permeation mechanism.
2Quantity of substance
If a fiber layer is used for specimen collection, then specimen can be collected, but fibers may separate and remain in the subject's body causing medical problems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the fiber layer component entirely from the swab structure, eliminating the source of fiber separation problems while preserving the core function of specimen collection through a solid matrix approach.
3Quantity of substance
If a fiber layer is used for specimen collection, then the specimen can permeate through, but the collected specimen amount is insufficient reducing examination accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the collection unit by using a solid matrix with controlled porosity and surface area, optimizing these parameters to maximize specimen collection capacity and ensure sufficient specimen amount for accurate examination.
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 design increases specimen collection efficiency, reduces discomfort, and enhances examination accuracy by ensuring complete specimen retrieval without fiber remnants, thus improving overall specimen collection safety and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
the screw blade or the hub is made of a flexible or elastic material
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a sample collection stick. Provided is a technology in which a sample collection unit comprises a hub and a screw blade in a spiral form, the screw blade having at least one collection indentation formed in the outer border thereof, and consists of a material with flexibility or elasticity, thereby enabling an increase in the amount of a sample collected from a subject being tested and enabling an increase in the amount of dissolution or dispersion of the collected sample into a reagent or solution from the sample collection stick.