Breathprint sensor systems, smart inhalers and methods for personal identification

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016106935-A1
Application number	US-201514791049-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 2, 2015
Priority date	Oct 17, 2014
Publication date	Apr 21, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Breathprint sensor systems for verifying the identity of a person using gases produced by the person are disclosed. The breathprint sensor systems include one or more sensors having first response characteristics to compounds in gases and one or more processors being configured to receive a set of test data provided by the one or more first sensors based on an exposure of the one or more first sensors to gases produced by a person and determine whether or not the set of test data verifies the identity of the person. Some aspects of the disclosure relate to a smart inhaler system using a breathprint sensor to assist in delivery of drugs to users through inhalation. Methods for operating breathprint sensor and smart inhaler systems and computer-readable media for implementing the methods are also disclosed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A breathprint sensor system for verifying an identity of a person, the system comprising:
one or more first sensors having first response characteristics to compounds in gases, the one or more first sensors being configured to output sensor data representing the first response characteristics; and one or more processors in communication with the one or more first sensors, the one or more processors being configured to:
receive a set of test data provided by the one or more first sensors based on an exposure of the one or more first sensors to gases produced by the person during a test phase; and
determine whether the set of test data verifies the identity of the person.

2 . The breathprint sensor system of claim 1 , further comprising:
one or more second sensors having second response characteristics to compounds in gases, the one or more second sensors being configured to output supplemental sensor data representing the second response characteristics; the one or more processors being in further communication with the one or more second sensors and being further configured to:
receive a set of supplemental sensor data provided by the one or more second sensors based on an exposure of the one or more second sensors to the gases produced by the person during the test phase;
identify a biological or environmental condition associated with the set of supplemental sensor data; and
provide information indicating the biological or environmental condition.

3 . The breathprint sensor system of claim 1 , wherein determining whether the set of test data verifies the identity of the person comprises:
pre-processing the test data; and using a pattern classifier to classify the pre-processed test data into one of a plurality of classes comprising: (i) identity verified when a pattern of the test data is recognized as belonging to the person, and (ii) identity not verified when a pattern of the test data is recognized as not belonging to the person.

4 . The breathprint sensor system of claim 3 , wherein the pattern classifier comprises a neural network pattern classifier.

5 . The breathprint sensor system of claim 3 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to train the pattern classifier from one or more sets of training data.

6 . The breathprint sensor system of claim 5 , wherein training the pattern classifier from one or more sets of training data comprises:
receiving one or more sets of positive training data provided by the one or more first sensors based on one or more exposures of the one or more first sensors to gases produced by the person during a training phase; providing the one or more sets of positive training data to the pattern classifier; and informing the pattern classifier that the one or more sets of positive training data belong to the person.

7 . The breathprint sensor system of claim 6 , wherein training the pattern classifier from one or more sets of training data further comprises:
receiving one or more sets of negative training data provided by the one or more first sensors based on one or more exposures of the one or more first sensors to gases not produced by the person during a training phase; providing the one or more sets of negative training data to the pattern classifier; and informing the pattern classifier that the one or more sets of negative training data do not belong to the person.

8 . The breathprint sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more first sensors are made from sensor materials selected from the group consisting of: conducting polymer, conducting polymer composites, intrinsically conducting polymers, and any combinations thereof.

9 . The breathprint sensor system of claim 1 , the one or more first sensors being further configured to obtain the sensor data when a surface temperature of the one or more first sensors is unmodulated.

10 . The breathprint sensor system of claim 1 , further comprising a memory configured to store the sensor data and/or information derived from the sensor data.

11 . The breathprint sensor system of claim 1 , wherein each sensor comprises a polymer layer having a variable conductance based on exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in gases.

12 . The breathprint sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: derive a test feature vector from the test data through feature extraction.

13 . The breathprint sensor system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: compare the test feature vector to a training feature vector derived from training data; and based on the comparison, determine whether the test data verifies the identity of the person.

14 . A smart inhaler system for delivering drugs to a person by inhalation, the system comprising:
a breathprint sensor system configured to verify an identity of the person using gases produced by the person; an inhaler apparatus adapted to deliver the drugs to the person through inhalation when the inhaler apparatus is received by the person; and a control system in communication with the breathprint sensor system and with the inhaler apparatus, the control system configured to:
receive information from the breathprint sensor system, the information indicating whether the person's identity is verified, and
control an operation of the inhaler apparatus according to the received information.

15 . The smart inhaler system of claim 14 , wherein controlling the operation of the inhaler apparatus according to the received information comprises controlling a delivery of a drug according to the received information.

16 . The smart inhaler system of claim 14 , further comprising an interface system for inputting data to and/or outputting data from the breathprint sensor system, the inhaler apparatus, and/or the control system.

17 . The smart inhaler system of claim 16 , wherein the interface system comprises a wireless network interface for exchanging data with an external device via a wireless network.

18 . The smart inhaler system of claim 16 , wherein the interface system comprises an input/output device configured to receive user inputs and provide information to users.

19 . The smart inhaler system of claim 18 , wherein the input/output device comprises one selected from the group consisting of: a display device, a light emitting diode, a speaker, a touch sensitive input device, a button, a haptic device, and any combinations thereof.

20 . The smart inhaler system of claim 14 , wherein the control system is further configured to send a notification indicating that an unverified person attempted to use the inhaler apparatus when the information received from the breathprint sensor system indicates that the person's identity is not verified.

21 . The smart inhaler system of claim 14 , wherein the control system is further configured to deactivate the inhaler apparatus when the information received from the breathprint sensor system indicates that the person's identity is not verified.

22 . The smart inhaler system of claim 14 , wherein the control system is further configured to prompt the person to provide a breath sample to the breathprint sensor system when the information received from the breathprint sensor system indicates that the person's identity is not verified.

23 . The smart inhaler system of claim 14 , wherein the control system is further configure

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Sezan Muhammed Ibrahim
• Dantsker Eugene
• Londergan Ana Rangelova
• Hoffman Paul Robert

Classifications

• G07C9/37

  using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition · CPC title

• A61B5/082 Primary

  Evaluation by breath analysis, e.g. determination of the chemical composition of exhaled breath (A61B5/083, A61B5/091 take precedence) · CPC title

• A61M2205/52

  with memories providing a history of measured variating parameters of apparatus or patient · CPC title

• A61M2205/3561

  local, e.g. within room or hospital · CPC title

• A61M2202/0275

  Nitric oxide [NO] · CPC title