A Diagnostic Screening Technology for Road-Side Drug Testing

路边药物检测诊断筛查技术

• 批准号: 538564-2019
• 负责人: Srinivasan, Seshasai
• 金额: $ 8.96万
• 依托单位: McMaster University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Collaborative Research and Development Grants
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=699543
• 关键词: Diagnostic; Screening; Technology; Road; Side

Drug-impaired driving represents a significant and increasing threat to the safety of Canadians. Indeed, according to the Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse and Addiction, the percentage of drivers killed in vehicle accidents and testing positive for drugs is higher than that of alcohol. In part, this trend has been driven by the current opioid crisis in Canada. Thus, there is an urgent need for a convenient, instantaneous and accurate road-side evaluation technology for impaired driving. Current solution for roadside drug testing involves the acquisition of a $4,500 portable base station and the police will incur costs of approximately $35 per test for each user. However, this is still just a qualitative indicator. Quantitative detection of drugs requires expensive equipment, dedicated infrastructure and specialized laboratory personnel. To address this problem, Eye3Concepts Inc., an Ontario based company, is teaming up with McMaster University and wants to adapt its smartphone based reader technology called pd.id. pd.id was developed in an earlier collaborative effort with McMaster, funded via NSERC Engage and OCE-VIP 1 programs, to detect the presence of date rape drugs in liquids. In this project, pd.id will be adapted towards a technology that consists of a strip coated with reagents that bind with the drugs (THC and methamphetamine) in saliva and emit spectral wavelengths. These emitted spectral signatures will be recorded by a special sensor and an onboard microprocessor equipped with sophisticated signal processing algorithms will convert it to a digital signature, conduct further analysis, and compare it with a digital library of signatures to flag the presence of any PDs. The pd.id device will be electronic and rechargeable so it can be used constantly. It will be integrated with a smartphone containing the digital library or be able to communicate with the cloud containing the database, adding a further level of sophistication.

毒品受损的驾驶代表了对加拿大人安全的巨大威胁。确实，根据加拿大药物滥用和成瘾中心的说法，车祸中杀死的驾驶员的百分比和对毒品呈阳性的测试率高于酒精。在某种程度上，这种趋势是由当前加拿大阿片类药物危机驱动的。因此，迫切需要方便，瞬时，准确的路边评估技术，以使驾驶受损。当前的路边药物测试解决方案涉及收购4,500美元的便携式基站，警察将为每个用户的每次测试约为35美元。但是，这仍然只是定性指标。定量检测药物需要昂贵的设备，专用的基础设施和专门的实验室人员。为了解决这个问题，位于安大略省的公司Eye3Concepts Inc.正在与McMaster University合作，并希望调整其基于智能手机的读者技术PD.ID。 PD.ID是在与McMaster的早期合作中开发的，该合作是通过NSERC参与和OCE-VIP 1计划资助的，以检测液体中的日期强奸药物的存在。在该项目中，PD.ID将适应一种技术，该技术由唾液和EMIT光谱波长中的药物（THC和甲基苯丙胺）结合的试剂（THC和甲基苯丙胺）组成。这些发射的光谱签名将由特殊传感器记录，配备复杂信号处理算法的机上微处理器将其转换为数字签名，进行进一步分析，并将其与数字签名库进行比较以标记任何PDS的存在。 PD.ID设备将是电子且可充电的，因此可以不断使用。它将与包含数字库的智能手机集成，或者能够与包含数据库的云进行通信，从而增加了一定程度的复杂水平。