Patent ID: 8259299
Filing Date: 2012-09-04
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. A method of identifying a gas sample using a gas sample scanning and analysis system including a storage system, comprising the steps of: scanning the gas sample with a gas sample scanning and analysis system, the gas sample scanning and analysis system including a transmitter for transmitting a series of electromagnetic signals, each of the signals among the series of electromagnetic signals having a transmitted amplitude over a plurality of sample points within a range of frequencies, and a receiver for receiving a series of amplitude modified signals based on the series of electromagnetic signals as the series of electromagnetic signals are reflected from or transmitted through the gas sample; generating a series of spectral data sets representing at least a scanned amplitude of each of the signals over the plurality of sample points; generating one or more composite spectrograms from the series of spectral data sets; analyzing the one or more composite spectrograms to identify a characteristic of the gas sample, the characteristic having a first variance that is minimized across the one or more composite spectrograms and a second variance that is maximally different across a plurality of characteristics corresponding to a plurality of other samples in the storage system; comparing the characteristic of the gas sample to a plurality of profiles corresponding to a plurality of gasses at a plurality of concentrations stored in the storage system to identify a profile among the plurality of profiles that corresponds to the characteristic of the gas sample; and identifying the gas sample based on the profile among the plurality of profiles that corresponds to the characteristic of the gas sample.