RF rapid diagnostics of infection and contamination

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12379329-B2
Application number	US-202016857945-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 24, 2020
Priority date	Apr 24, 2020
Publication date	Aug 5, 2025
Grant date	Aug 5, 2025

Abstract

A rapid virus and pathogen detector using RF and Dielectric Spectroscopy. The targeted virus or pathogen is identified by active illumination by RF energy and analysis of the response RF signal.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method, comprising the steps of:
a. receiving a sample in a sample holder, including receiving the sample holder in a measurement chamber comprising a tapered chamber with a tapered septum;
b. illuminating the sample with a radio frequency (RF) radiation;
c. receiving a response RF signal by from the sample;
d. amplifying, with a low noise amplifier (LNA), the response RF signal;
e. tuning the response RF signal;
f. filtering the response RF signal;
g. converting, with analog to digital converter (ADC), the response RF signal from an analog form to a digital form;
h. transforming the response RF signal from a time domain to a frequency domain;
i. breaking down, with a signal analysis unit connected to ADC, the response RF signal into components by sequentially applying a singular spectrum analysis (SSA);
j. analyzing, with the signal analysis unit, selected components with unsupervised Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN); and
k. comparing, with the signal analysis unit, a digital spectrum signature of the response RF signal against a target virus spectrum signature or against a target pathogen spectrum signature.

2. A method, comprising the steps of:
receiving a sample in a sample holder within a measurement chamber including a tapered chamber with a tapered septum;
transmitting, with a transmitting antenna, a radio frequency (RF) radiation toward the sample;
receiving, with a receiving antenna, a response RF signal from the sample;
analyzing, with a signal analysis unit connected to the receiving antenna through a low noise amplifier (LNA), an RF receiver and analog to digital converter (ADC), the response RF signal; and
comparing a spectrum signature of the response RF signal against a virus spectrum signature or against a pathogen spectrum signature.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein receiving the sample comprises:
exhaling a breath sample into a breath collection apparatus;
pulling the breath sample through a pin aperture though one wall of the measurement chamber under a vacuum condition, the measurement chamber being in a fluid connection with the breath collection apparatus; and
exhausting the sample with a vacuum through an aperture through another wall of the measurement chamber.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein receiving the sample further comprises receiving a breath sample through an aperture through a wall of the measurement chamber.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein each of the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna comprises at least one of Planar Inverted Antenna (PIFA), monopoles, dipoles, horn, yagi, loop antennas, compressed loop antennas, or log period antennas.

6. The method of claim 2 , wherein each of the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna comprises a square shape.

7. The method of claim 2 , further comprising positioning each of the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna on an antenna plate and separating the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna from each other.

8. The method of claim 2 , wherein analyzing the response RF signal comprises:
breaking down the response RF signal into components by sequentially applying a singular spectrum analysis (SSA); and
analyzing selected components with unsupervised Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN).

9. The method of claim 2 , wherein analyzing the spectrum signature of the response RF signal comprises successively using band windows sweeping through an ultrawide bandwidth.

10. The method of claim 2 , wherein analyzing the spectrum signature of the response RF signal comprises increasing a signal to noise ration of the response RF signal by applying low pass and high pass filters to multiple signal acquisitions and summing results of each acquisition.

11. The method of claim 2 , further comprising cleaning a signal noise with a wavelet denoising.

12. The method of claim 2 , further comprising detecting a virus in the sample without reliance on detecting antibodies, genetic material, or proteins through chemical methods.

13. The method of claim 2 , further comprising calculating a viral load correlatable to a severity of a disease.

14. A method, comprising the steps of:
a. receiving a sample in a sample holder, including:
exhaling a breath sample into a breath collection apparatus,
pulling the breath sample through a pin aperture though one wall of a measurement chamber under a vacuum condition, the measurement chamber being in a fluid communication with the breath collection apparatus, and
exhausting the sample with a vacuum through an aperture through another wall of the measurement chamber;

b. illuminating the sample with a radio frequency (RF) radiation;
c. receiving a response RF signal from the sample;
d. amplifying, with a low noise amplifier (LNA), the response RF signal;
e. tuning the response RF signal;
f. filtering the response RF signal;
g. converting, with analog to digital converter (ADC), the response RF signal from an analog form to a digital form;
h. transforming the response RF signal from a time domain to a frequency domain;
i. breaking down, with a signal analysis unit connected to ADC, the response RF signal into components by sequentially applying a singular spectrum analysis (SSA);
j. analyzing, with the signal analysis unit, selected components with unsupervised Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN); and
k. comparing, with the signal analysis unit, a digital spectrum signature of the response RF signal against a target virus spectrum signature or against a target pathogen spectrum signature.

Assignees

• Nokomis Inc

Inventors

• Keller Iii Walter J
• Uplinger Ii James Robert
• Makarenko Vladimir

Classifications

• G01N33/497 Primary

  of gaseous biological material, e.g. breath · CPC title

• G01N27/026

  Dielectric impedance spectroscopy (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy for measuring corrosion G01N17/02) · CPC title

• G01N27/007

  by investigating the electric dipolar moment (measuring piezoelectric properties G01R29/22) · CPC title

• G01N22/00 Primary

  Investigating or analysing materials by the use of microwaves or radio waves, i.e. electromagnetic waves with a wavelength of one millimetre or more (G01N3/00 - G01N17/00, G01N24/00 take precedence) · CPC title