Toilet apparatus for detecting fluorescent drug markers in urine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10012660-B2
Application number	US-201715834441-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 7, 2017
Priority date	Nov 28, 2016
Publication date	Jul 3, 2018
Grant date	Jul 3, 2018

Abstract

The present disclosure describes a toilet apparatus for detecting a drug marker in a urine sample. The drug markers are fluorophores each of which emits a unique fluorescence spectrum. Accordingly, the toilet does not detect the drug but rather, the drug marker. The user consumes a drug composition which includes a drug and a fluorescent drug marker. The user urinates normally into the toilet and fluorescence spectrometer within the toilet analyzes the urine for drug markers based on their unique fluorescent spectra. Computer software associated with the toilet identifies, and in some embodiments, quantifies the fluorescent spectra by comparing the detected spectra to known spectra of fluorescent markers associated with the drug.

First claim

We claim:

1. A toilet comprising:
a toilet bowl;
a urine capture device;
a controller; and
a urine analysis system comprising:
a fluorescence spectrometer, the fluorescence spectrometer comprising:
at least one fluorescence excitation light source;
at least one fluorescence measurement cell; and
a spectral analyzer;

a mound, the mound defined by a protrusion of an inner surface of the toilet bowl and comprising a depression; and
an orifice, wherein the orifice is within the mound and in fluid communication with the urine analysis system.

2. The toilet of claim 1 , wherein the at least one fluorescence measurement cell comprises a conduit in fluid communication with the orifice, the conduit comprising two optical windows.

3. The toilet of claim 1 , wherein the at least one fluorescence measurement cell comprises a thermal regulator.

4. The toilet of claim 3 , wherein the controller is in electrical connection with the thermal regulator.

5. The toilet of claim 4 , wherein the controller comprises a non-transitory computer-readable medium, and wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprises instructions for regulating the temperature of the at least one fluorescence measurement cell.

6. The toilet of claim 1 , wherein the controller comprises a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions for identifying a drug composition, the drug composition comprising a drug and a fluorescent drug marker, by comparing a unique fluorescence emission spectrum measured in a urine sample with a known fluorescence emission spectrum of each of a plurality of fluorescent drug markers.

7. The toilet of claim 6 , wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises instructions for quantifying the fluorescent drug marker.

8. The toilet of claim 6 , wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises instructions for comparing a plurality of unique fluorescence spectra associated with a plurality of fluorescent drug markers with a known fluorescence emission spectrum of each of a plurality of fluorescent drug markers.

9. The toilet of claim 8 , wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises instructions for quantifying each of the plurality of fluorescent drug markers.

10. The toilet of claim 6 , wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises instructions for conducting an ensemble measurement.

11. The toilet of claim 10 , wherein the instructions direct the ensemble measurement to be performed by serial measurements.

12. The toilet of claim 1 , further comprising a rinsing device, wherein the rinsing device is in fluid communication with a water source, the urine capture device, and the urine analysis system.

13. The toilet of claim 1 , wherein the at least one fluorescence measurement cell comprises a plurality of fluorescence measurement cells.

14. The toilet of claim 1 , further comprising a means for identifying a user of the toilet, the means comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

15. The toilet of claim 14 , wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprises instructions for storing data from an analysis performed by the toilet and associating the data with the user.

16. The toilet of claim 15 , further comprising a data communication port, wherein the controller is in electronic communication with a network database.

17. The toilet of claim 1 , further comprising a means for identifying a user of the toilet comprising at least one of the following list: a keypad, a wireless connection to a mobile device, and a biometric verification device.

18. The toilet of claim 1 wherein the urine analysis system further comprises a microfluidic channel.

19. The toilet of claim 18 , wherein the controller comprises a non-transitory computer readable medium, the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions for conducting an ensemble measurement.

Assignees

• Hall David R
• Rosenbrock Conrad
• Swenson Ben
• Hendricks Daniel
• Fox Joe
• Pearman Terrece

Inventors

• Hall David R
• Rosenbrock Conrad
• Swenson Ben
• Hendricks Daniel
• Fox Joe
• Pearman Terrece

Classifications

• G01N21/6428

  Measuring fluorescence of fluorescent products of reactions or of fluorochrome labelled reactive substances, e.g. measuring quenching effects, using measuring "optrodes" (in vivo A61B5/00; immunoassay G01N33/53) · CPC title

• G01N2021/6417

  Spectrofluorimetric devices · CPC title

• G01N33/94 Primary

  involving narcotics {or drugs or pharmaceuticals, neurotransmitters or associated receptors} · CPC title

• G01N2201/061

  Sources · CPC title

• E03D11/13

  Parts or details of bowls; Special adaptations of pipe joints or couplings for use with bowls {, e.g. provisions in bowl construction preventing backflow of waste-water from the bowl in the flushing pipe or cistern, provisions for a secondary flushing, for noise-reducing} · CPC title