Pocket breath sampler with pharmacy-based disease analyzer
This technology is a portable breath-testing device that collects trace chemical compounds from a person's exhaled breath using a miniaturized chip-based trap, then transfers that trap to a desktop analyzer for disease detection. The key innovation is a removable cartridge design: a user breathes into a handheld sampler, and the cartridge containing the collected chemicals snaps out and plugs directly into the analyzer — no complex fluid handling or sample transfer required. The MEMS chip at the heart of the system concentrates very low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are biomarkers for conditions like cancer, metabolic disorders, or infections. A companion manufacturing process also allows many of these chips to be coated with detection chemistry simultaneously, reducing production cost.
What you could build
A two-part consumer or clinical breath diagnostics system — a pocket-sized sampler and a clinic or pharmacy-based analyzer — sold to primary care networks, corporate wellness programs, or direct-to-consumer health platforms for non-invasive disease screening.
Who in Virginia should care
Defense health agencies (DARPA, USAMRIID) and military medical centers in Virginia, plus the dense Northern Virginia/DC corporate wellness market, represent plausible early adopters or funding partners.
Readiness: Prototype likely
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Masoud AGAH, Nipun THAMATAM, Mustahsin CHOWDHURY
- Granted
- October 14, 2025
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 12442799
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.