Patents on the soles of your shoes...: gluten sensor

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Unveiled at CES2018 – Portable peanut sensor

In 2016, 6SensorLabs launched the first portable gluten sensor, called the Nima Sensor, designed for people with Celiac disease (Herrmann, 2016). This small, portable, triangular, chemistry-based gluten-detection device makes it possible to analyze any food for the presence of as little as 20 parts per million of gluten, in a tiny fraction of the time it takes for a laboratory to perform the same sorts of analyses.

In the early 2014 disclosure of this invention, the scope of the chemistry-based processes of analysis was explicitly extended well beyond the detection of gluten to other potentially harmful substances. So, it comes as no surprise that the company is launching a second allergen sensor.

Unveiled at CES 2018, the second product offered by 6sensorlabs, now called Nima Labs, is a portable peanut sensor for people with peanut allergies. (The company is taking pre-orders on the device due to launch in 52 days.)

The Nima Peanut detector looks just like its older gluten-detecting sibling. Use of the sensor proceeds through the same friendly 3-step process for analyzing and detecting the harmful substance in food. The user inserts a bit of the food inside a reactive capsule, inserts the capsule into the device, and in less than 2 minutes, receives a happy or a sad face result, depending on the detection, or not, of peanuts in the sample.(See the schematic patent drawing inserted below).

According to the inventors, the device thus makes it possible for allergic individuals:

“to dine out more often, say yes to catered events, double-check a packaged food, and travel far and wide.”

Three recently filed US utility patent applications, each with their 12 family members, filed at WIPO, the EPO, and at other national patent offices, are on file as continuation-in-part of the applications filed in 2013, 2014 and 2015 :

US2017124690 (A1) ― 2017-05-04 - System and method for detecting target substances
US2017097342 (A1) ― 2017-04-06 - System and method for detecting target substances
US2017003285 (A1) ― 2017-01-05 - System and method for detection of target substances

The abstract for US2017003285 is included below, together with a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the system for detecting a harmful substance. An image of the new sensor is included above.

A system and method includes a test container for detecting a target substance in a consumable sample, where the test container includes a test container body defining a test container top. a test container bottom opposing the test container top, a first chamber proximal the test container top, and a second chamber proximal the test container bottom, a magnetic diaphragm situated between the first chamber and the second chamber, the magnetic diaphragm obstructing flow of the consumable sample, and the magnetic diaphragm including a magnetic element embedded in the magnetic diaphragm, and a driving element geometrically complementary to the first chamber, the driving element including a consumable sample grinding feature protruding from a surface of the driving element. [Abstract US2017003285]

Nima Labs has also launched a Nimoji app with almost 50 emoji that describe dietary needs such as vegan, lactose-intolerant, PeaNOT, vegetarian etc.

References
NimaSensor
https://nimasensor.com

Herrmann, F. (2016) Oh, patents! Portable gluten sensor. Posted on Feb. 22, 2016, at Patents on the Soles of Your Shoes

https://patentsonthesolesofyourshoes.blogspot.com/search?q=gluten

Monday, February 22, 2016

Oh, patents! Portable Gluten sensor

Celiac disease affects more than 2 million people in the US. Celiac disease is an auto-immune disease that damages the lining of the small intestine, preventing the absorption of key nutrients. It is triggered by gluten, the protein found in wheat, rye, barley and some products such as vitamins and lip balms. Thus, people with Celiac disease cannot ingest, even a tiny amount of gluten. [NIH-NIDDKD]

The detection of gluten in food at best involves the analysis of food labels or questioning the people who prepare food. Otherwise, the known and highly effective methods of gluten detection involve the multi-step analysis of a food sample, a process which is best suited for laboratories or food manufacturing plants, considering the apparatus, the solvents, and time required to perform the tests.

The 6SensorLabs Nima portable gluten sensor thus responds to a real personal and household need for gluten analysis. The device consists of a triangular reader with an insertion port for a single use analysis capsule, into which the food sample is inserted for mixing with a solvent. The analysis of the food sample takes less that 2 minutes, and the device can detect less than 20 parts per million, which is the cutoff point for a gluten-free label. When the analysis is complete, the Nima reader displays a happy face for gluten-free and a sad face for the presence of gluten. Gluten analysis is now as easy as that!

This invention is disclosed in a family of 6 patent applications:

US2014295406 (A1) ― 2014-10-02 - Portable device for detection of harmful substances

CN105209912 (A) ― 2015-12-30 - Portable device for detection of harmful substances

EP2979092 (A1) ― 2016-02-03 - A portable device for detection of harmful substances

US2015011020 (A1) ― 2015-01-08 - System and method for detection of target substances

WO2014160861 (A1) ― 2014-10-02 - A portable device for detection of harmful substances

WO2015147911 (A1) ― 2015-10-01 - System and method for detection of target substances

As you will notice in the titles of the patents, the scope of the invention applies beyond the detection of gluten to the detection of substances, termed alternatively “target substances” or “harmful substances”. This means that with a capsule containing the right solvent, trace amounts of a wider variety of food or cosmetic allergens could be detected, with this portable device. Accordingly, US2014295406, for example, recites the following lists of potential target analytes:

“…caffeine, phenylalanine, aspartame, MSG, heavy metals, artificial flavors, and artificial colors [..] pathogens including bacteria, viruses, fungus, yeast, pesticides, and other toxins, or from the group of dietary units including fat, protein, sugar, sodium, cholesterol, vitamins, and minerals.”

Below, the Abstract for US2014295406 titled Portable device for detection of harmful substances, is included.

A self-contained apparatus and methods for detecting the presence of any specified substance in any medium. A sample of the medium is placed in a capsule, along with a solvent and a sensor configured to test for a target analyte. The solvent comes into contact with the medium in the capsule, and the capsule is agitated to create a dispersion in the solvent of a portion of any target analyte present in the medium. A release mechanism configured to cause conduction of the dispersion to the sensor, so that the sensor produces an indication of presence of the target analyte if the target analyte is present in the medium. The apparatus uses a disposable capsule where the medium in question is placed and the disposable capsule is placed inside a reader and analyzed for presence of the harmful substance. [Abstract US2014295406]

And below, an image of the marketed Nima Gluten sensor is included, as well as a figure drawing of the analysis capsule inserted into the device, extracted from the drawings appended to US2014295406.