CN1379641A - sampling device - Google Patents

Abstract

A sampler device for sampling from the mouth of a human or animal, comprising a probe (11) for insertion into the mouth or mandible, and a receptacle (70) into which the probe (11) can be inserted after sampling, the probe (11) being formed with a non-retractable snap-fit locating means (17,47) after insertion into the receptacle.

Description

sampling device

technical field

The present invention relates to a portable device for taking samples from a subject, for testing the presence of drugs or other substances in the body, and for storing samples.

Background technique

Drug use occurs in various industries and drug testing is sometimes done casually and routinely for people in custodial positions such as heavy equipment operators, airline pilots, train drivers, bus drivers, etc. Current devices for testing pharmaceuticals are time consuming, cumbersome and require expert knowledge to operate, and often rely on taking a blood sample from the subject to conduct the test.

In particular, the detection of drugs and other substances in the bloodstream of motorists is becoming necessary and it is desirable to obtain on-the-spot samples at the roadside in a quick and easy way. It is also desirable that any sample be stored in a safe and tamper-proof condition and be matched to a specific subject.

Samples taken from subjects (animal, plant or human) may alternatively or additionally be kept in storage for other tests in particular DNA tests. In such cases, it is expected that test specimens should be kept in safe storage for an extended period until further testing or conduct of the study.

Contents of the invention

The present invention provides a simple device for taking a sample from the mouth of a subject and a storage device for storing the device and sample in a tamper evident container.

Summary of the invention

According to the present invention there is provided a sampling device comprising a probe for sampling, and a container in which the probe is non-retractably snap fit after sampling.

The probe is preferably adapted to remove material from the gingival cavity of a mammal. Preferably, the probe further includes a shaft having a handle and a spacer between the handle and the shaft. The spacer forms a snap-fit lid with the container when the stem is inserted into the container, and further includes a sealing lip on a side of the spacer adjacent the stem for sealing the container once the sampling probe is retained within the container. The distal portion of the shaft has an absorbent sampling collection area for absorbing body secretions, preferably the mouth and jaw. The absorbent zone consists of a high saline concentration pad covered with a semi-permeable membrane.

Preferably, the container includes a reservoir to retain the internal fluid and an outer plastic sleeve to seal the reservoir, the sleeve having an aperture with a tear-off lid that is opened by a probe inserted after the lid is removed. seal. Preferably, the isolation cover forms a snap-on cover for said aperture and the sealing strip on the isolation cover is mounted on the reservoir.

Each handle and/or sleeve is given a unique barcode so that a sample taken once sealed within the container cannot be confused or misidentified as another sample.

The handle and/or sheath may be formed with a thinned area to guide and allow insertion of a needle through the cap to remove the test sample from the container, and the handle preferably has a guide channel to the thinned area.

The reservoir is made of an optically transparent material, such as glass or clear plastic material, and the sleeve has openings on opposite sides of the reservoir to allow a direct beam of light to pass through the reservoir to photosensitive or illuminate any suitable chemical solution stored in the reservoir . Preferably, the opening is located in the lower part of the vessel so that any beam of light passing through the vessel will not be distorted by the meniscus of any solution within the vessel having a standard level.

The combination of enzymes and antibodies directly metabolizes the drug and fluoresces upon solution detection of any metabolites or derivatives excited using optical transmission through the solution, as described in US Patent No. 5,164,504. Other substances can be detected in situ in the sleeve using other chemical treatments and various light transmission and absorption techniques.

The container may be a unitary container with an optical window formed in the lower half of the container.

Also in accordance with the present invention there is provided a sampling container having an aperture with a tear-off partial lid allowing a sample to be introduced into the container through the aperture, and a non-retractable snap-fit lid which can be inserted into the aperture to lock the inside sampling.

Description of drawings

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Accompanying drawing 1 shows the side view of sampling probe,

Accompanying drawing 2 shows the end view of the probe in accompanying drawing 1;

Accompanying drawing 3 shows the side view of a container store;

Figure 4 shows an end view of the reservoir in Figure 2;

Accompanying drawing 5 shows the side view of the container sleeve that is placed on the reservoir;

Accompanying drawing 6 shows the end view of the cover in accompanying drawing 5;

Figure 7 shows a side view of the sleeve and reservoir assembled together;

Accompanying drawing 8 shows the end view of the part in accompanying drawing 7;

Accompanying drawing 9 shows the side view of container and probe under assembled state;

Figure 10 shows an end view of the vessel and probe of Figure 9;

Figure 11 shows the alternative container in open and closed condition.

Detailed ways

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, there is shown a probe 11 for sampling from the mouth or jaw of an animal or human being suspected of drug abuse. The probe 11 has a shaft 12 with a handle 13 at one end and a transverse rectangular spacer 14 between the shaft and the handle. The end portion 15 of the rod widens and has pads 16 on both sides of the end, the pads being made of absorbent material. Such materials are the hypertonic salts disclosed in US Patent No. 5,830,410.

The spacer 14 adjacent the side of the rod 12 has a pair of resiliently undercut hooks 17 at its opposite ends, and a rectangular flange 18 surrounding the rod 12 . The flange 18 has a peripheral sealing strip 19 formed thereon. The handle 13 has a vertical channel 20 extending into the shield to form a flat and thin region 20A which allows easier penetration of a hypodermic needle for withdrawing fluid for testing. Breakage of region 20A will also indicate whether the sample has changed.

Referring now to Figures 7 and 8, a container 70 for use with probe 11 is shown. The container includes an inner reservoir 20 and an outer sleeve 40 .

The reservoir 20 is shown in detail in Figures 3 and 4 and comprises a hollow body of rectangular cross-section made of an optically transparent material such as glass, or a plastic material such as polyethylene, thermoplastic polyester or the like. The reservoir hollow body 20 has an opening 21 at the upper end surrounded by a flat circumferential lip 22 . The sealing strip 23 is sloped at the upper end of the hollow body 20 and works with the groove of the sleeve 40 . An indicator mark 24 on the side of the cartridge indicates the level at which the reservoir is filled with chemical solution.

In use, the reservoir is filled through opening 21 with a solution of a suitable detection chemical to chemically react with the sample contained in the probe.

The sleeve 40 is best shown in accompanying drawings 5 and 6, and comprises a sleeve body with a rectangular cross-section cavity 41, with an opening 47 at the upper end of the sleeve body, sealed by a tear-off cover 42, and The lower end is open to accommodate a reservoir 20 . A label 43 on the cover 42 facilitates removal of the cover 42 in use. Cavity 41 accommodates reservoir 20 and is a sliding fit therewith. A peripheral groove 44 in the inner surface of the cavity allows the cover 42 to return to its original position and to cooperate with the sealing strip 23 on the reservoir hollow body 20 in use. On opposite sides of the sleeve 40 there are breakouts or openings 45 . Preferably the breakout portion is arcuate in shape and has sloped sides 46, as will be described below.

Referring again to FIGS. 7 and 8 , the reservoir 20 is filled with a test solution and is fitted with a sleeve 40 . The sealing strip 23 on the reservoir engages the groove 44 to seal the solution in the assembled container 70 and lock the reservoir in the sleeve. The memory 70 is now tamper-evident and tamper-proof.

At the time of use, the probe and assembled container are supplied as a pair in a sealed bag. The end portion 15 of the probe 11 is placed between the gum and the cheek in the suspect's mouth for a predetermined period of time, about three minutes. Pad 16 collects biological secretions. The isolation cover 14 prevents any cross-contamination between the handle and the rod, and between the experimenter's hand and the suspect's mouth.

The cap 42 can be removed from the sealed container 70 by tearing off said cap and pushing the stem 12 of the probe 11 into the solution in the reservoir 20 . The hooks 17 on the canister 14 engage the openings 47 in the lid to lock the probes in the container 70 . A sealing strip 19 on the isolation cap seals the test fluid and sample taken within the container against the lip 22 surrounding the reservoir mouth 21 . The locked state of the probe provides a tamper evident seal once the sample is placed in the test fluid and the isolation cover 14 is snapped shut.

The assembled probe/container is now placed into an optical test meter or reader and can be manipulated by light absorption techniques such as luminometer, fluorometer and colorimeter techniques, which are not part of the present invention.

When the container is placed into the reader, the breakout portion 45 in the lower portion of the sleeve allows optical penetration of the reservoir 20 and test fluid so that the integrity of the sampling and test fluid is not compromised by the test.

The arcuate beveled edge 46 of the breakaway portion provides a locating device within the reader and the light-tight seal.

Breakout portion 45 is located in the lower portion of the container to prevent any optical interference between the meniscus of the solution in container 70 and any light beam passing through the sample during reading by the test instrument.

To prevent false matches between samples and suspects, the probe's handle 13 and/or container 70 can be barcoded to identify a specific suspect.

Figure 11 shows another embodiment of the present invention, the container 170 may be a single hollow member with an optical viewing window 175 in the lower part of the fluid container. The container is provided with a tear-off seal 172 prior to allowing the probe to be inserted and locked within the container.

Claims (17)

1, a kind of sampler that is used for getting test sample book in the mouth of human body or animal comprises that one is used to insert a probe and the container in mouth or the lower jaw, and probe can not cooperate with container in container after the sampling with recalling fast.

2, sampler as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, probe comprises that further one has the bar of handle, and a isolation cover between handle and probe.

3, sampler as claimed in claim 2 is characterized in that, after the bar of probe was inserted into container, isolation cover formed a lid that cooperates fast with container.

4, want the sampler of device 2 or 3 as right, it is characterized in that, isolation cover comprises a sealing lip on the limit of the isolation cover of contiguous bar, in case sample probe is used for sealed container when being retained in the container.

As any one sampler among the claim 1-4, it is characterized in that 5, the distal portions of bar has an absorption sampling that can absorb secretions and collects part.

6, as any one sampler among the claim 1-5, it is characterized in that, container comprises that one keeps the bin of internal flow and the outer plastic jacket casing of a bootstrap reservoir, and this cover has one and has the aperture that can tear lid, and this aperture can seal by the probe that inserts after taking lid away.

7, sampler as claimed in claim 6, when when quoting claim 2, wherein isolation cover forms a snap in cover to described aperture, and the sealing strip of isolation cover is installed on the bin.

As the sampler of claim 6 or 7, it is characterized in that 8, bin is made by transparent material and sleeve has an opening and penetrates container to allow light beam on the relative edge of bin.

9, sampler as claimed in claim 8 is characterized in that, opening is positioned at the lower part of container.

As any one sampler among the claim 1-5, it is characterized in that 10, container comprises that one has the ducted body of optical clear window, this transparency window is positioned at the lower part of ducted body.

As any one sampler among the claim 1-10, it is characterized in that 11, probe and/or container have unique bar code identification.

As any one sampler among the claim 1-11, it is characterized in that 12, container provided one to change tangible sealing member before assembling with probe.

As any one sampler among the claim 1-12, it is characterized in that 13, probe forms one with container and changes tangible sealing member after assembling.

14, the sampler in any claim of quoting claim 2 is characterized in that, isolation cover forms a thin downward zone and allows hypodermic needle to insert by lid, to take test specimens from container away.

As the sampler of claim 14, it is characterized in that 15, handle has the gathering sill in the thin zone of a formation therein.

16, a kind of sampling container has one and can tear off the aperture that part is covered, and it allows sample to put in the container and an irreversible quick cooperation lid by aperture, and it can insert the sample of aperture with the locking the inside.

17, as the sampling container of claim 16, it is characterized in that, cooperate lid that fluid and aperture are tightly sealed fast.

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