Non-invasive Blood Alcohol Sensor for Emergency Room Applications

描述（由申请人提供）：在急诊室（er）准确定量血液酒精是准确诊断和及时治疗的重要筛选步骤。一些严重的紧急情况，如创伤性头部损伤、糖尿病和中风，可能被误诊为酒精中毒。一种可靠的血液酒精测量方法可以改善这些病例的诊断。智能光学系统提出了一种基于钌基配合物的发射寿命测量的急诊室（ER）应用酒精的非侵入式传感器。该传感器设计将适用于不需要或不需要患者互动和合作的情况。目标是一个简单的光学检测平台，具有高精度的血液酒精测量，导致快速，但充分的治疗。这样的系统有望广泛应用于许多卫生保健机构的临床分析、筛查酒精摄入和监测治疗效率。钌基配合物将共价附着在多孔玻璃基体上。唾液取样时，酒精分子会与结合的钌指示剂相互作用，引起发射猝灭。通过使用高度稳定的荧光钌络合物，发射测量手段的检测将得到加强。第一阶段将重点展示在缓冲液和模拟唾液中实现可重复、敏感的酒精含量测量的可行性。我们将与德克萨斯理工大学健康科学中心急诊医学部的Robert Woolard教授合作，对人类唾液样本进行测试并与血液水平进行比较。Woolard教授在酒精化学和er相关研究方面是公认的专家。第二阶段将在真实唾液样本中验证传感器的灵敏度和可靠性，以验证检测精度满足ER要求。最终的商业产品将用于医疗诊断、国土安全和临床监测等市场。该系统将有能力扩展到滥用药物的测试，未来额外的研究资金将涵盖ER应用中的多种测试标准。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Accurate quantification of blood alcohol in emergency rooms (ERs) is an important screening step for a precise diagnosis and hence for prompt treatment. Some severe emergencies such as traumatic head injury, diabetes, and stroke can be misdiagnosed as alcohol intoxication. A reliable measurement of blood-alcohol would improve diagnosis in these cases. Intelligent Optical Systems proposes to develop a non-invasive sensor for alcohol for emergency room (ER) applications, based on emission lifetime measurements of a ruthenium-based complex. The sensor design will be suitable for situations in which patient interaction and cooperation is not required or is not available. The objective is a simple optical detection platform with high accuracy in blood alcohol measurements, leading to fast, yet adequate treatment. Such a system can be expected to have widespread application for clinical assays in many health care settings, for screening alcohol intake, and for monitoring treatment efficiency. The ruthenium-based complex will be covalently attached to a porous glass matrix. As the saliva sampling occurs, alcohol molecules will interact with bound ruthenium indicator and cause emission quenching. Detection by means of emission measurements will be enhanced by using a highly stable fluorescent ruthenium complex. Phase I will focus on demonstrating the feasibility of achieving reproducible, sensitive measurements of alcohol levels in buffer and modeled saliva. Human saliva samples will be tested and compared to blood levels, through our collaboration with Prof. Robert Woolard of Texas Tech University Health Science Center's Emergency Medicine Department. Prof. Woolard is a recognized expert in alcohol chemical and ER-related studies. Phase II will demonstrate sensor sensitivity and reliability in real saliva samples to validate detection accuracy meeting ER requirements. The final commercial product will address markets such as health care diagnostics, homeland security, and clinical monitoring. The system will have the capability to be extended to testing for drugs of abuse with future additional research funding that will cover multiple testing criteria in ER applications. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Intelligent Optical Systems proposes to develop a new technique for saliva-alcohol measurements in emergency rooms. The detector will have the measurement accuracy required in emergency rooms without the need for active patient interaction, and will therefore contribute to quick diagnosis and appropriate treatment.