Mechanical Breath Collection Device

Abstract

The present disclosure describes systems, methods, and apparatus for a portable and handheld mechanical breath collection device. The mechanical breath collection device collects air from a human subject, filters out saliva from the human subject, and collects aerosolized droplets from the received air via inertial impaction on an impactor surface. A target chemical is then extracted from the collected aerosolized droplets, and analyzed. In this way, a concentration of a target chemical present from the human subject can be determined by the portable and handheld device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A mechanical breath collection system comprising:
 a mouthpiece configured to be placed in a human subject mouth to receive air from the human subject;   a breath collection module configured to collect a desired volume of air from the human subject, the breath collection module comprising:
 an impactor surface comprising a plurality of hollow impactor nozzles, the impactor surface capturing aerosol droplets from the received air from the human subject via inertial impaction; 
   a pump configured to suction the received air from the mouthpiece through the breath collection module; and   a pressure sensor in communication with the pump, the pressure sensor directing the pump to turn on when the received air is detected in the mouthpiece, and to turn off when no received air is detected in the mouthpiece.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the pump is a suction pump. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the impactor surface is manufactured from polystyrene. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the captured aerosol droplets from the received air comprise THC. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one valve between the mouthpiece and the breath collection module, the at least one valve configured to allow air flow from the mouthpiece into the breath collection module when in an open position, and block air flow from the mouthpiece into the breath collection module when in a closed position. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising an elution buffer solution configured to extract and solubilize a target chemical from the aerosol droplets captured in the impactor surface. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the elution buffer solution comprises CASPO. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the elution buffer solution comprises sodium deoxy cholate. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the elution buffer solution is at a pH level of 9 or greater. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the solubilized chemical from the aerosol droplets is solubilized THC. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the mouthpiece further comprises a saliva trap. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the mouthpiece is removable from the mechanical breath collection system. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the mouthpiece is disposable. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the desired volume of air collected from the human subject is 18 liters. 
     
     
         15 . A method for collecting breath containing a target chemical via a mechanical breath collection system, the method comprising:
 receiving air from a human subject via a mouthpiece configured to be placed in the human subject mouth;   pumping the received air through a breath collection module configured to collect a desired volume of air from the human subject;   trapping saliva from the received air in a saliva trap present in the breath collection module; and   contacting the received air via inertial impaction on an impactor surface comprising a plurality of hollow impactor nozzles, such that aerosol droplets within the received air are captured by the impactor surface.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the desired volume of air collected from the human subject is 18 liters. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 washing the impactor surface with an elution buffer solution configured to extract and solubilize a target chemical from the captured aerosol droplets.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the target chemical is THC. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the elution buffer solution comprises CASPO. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the elution buffer solution comprises sodium deoxy cholate.