METHOD AND MEANS FOR DETECTING ALCOHOL LEVELS IN HUMANS

Abstract: In order to detect ethanol in the lacrimal fluid an open eye of a subject is enclosed in an eyepiece (9) which defines a chamber above the eye. An ethanol vapor sensor (15) is mounted on the upper edge (11) of the eyepiece (9) in a spaced relationship to the eye. After calibration of the sensor (15) the ethanol vapor concentration in the lacrimal fluid exuded by the eye is measured.

Description: The present invention relates to the detection of alcohol in a human and more particularly to methods and means for such detection. The detection of blood alcohol levels in human beings has been achieved by various methods and for different purposes. For law enforcement the determination of blood alcohol levels has been essential for the prosecution of various offences particularly highway driving offences where the suspect may be impaired. For general medical purposes it is frequently essential for physicians to make an objective determination of the alcohol blood level of a patient to determine the health of the patient and/or the appropriate treatment. Sometimes the purposes overlap such as in a highway traffic accident. However, irrespective of the purposes, in the latter situation where the patient is critically ill the measurement of the alcohol blood level is by present methods time consuming and requires considerable expertise and is not possible without invasive methods. The obtaining of a blood alcohol reading by the breathalyser technique will not give an accurate reading if the patient has only just finished consuming alcohol: the alcohol in the mouth distorts the reading. The patient may have vomited or regurgitated as a consequence of the accident with the same effect or so that the patient cannot apply the breathalyser tube to his mouth. Or the patient may be unconscious so that a breathalyser reading may not be feasible. Most other present methods and equipment are more cumbersome and awkward to use so that they are, for the purpose of the present discussion, irrelevant. However, GB-A-718747 discloses a method of determining blood sugar concentration by optically measuring certain eye properties. US-A-3649199 discloses a system of detecting trace quantities of organic drug material by their effusion through the skin, whereupon the gaseous effusing material is analysed in a three-stage separator. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus which enables the blood alcohol level in a patient to be determined objectively and independently of the remaining physical conditions of the patient. It is a feature of the invention that the blood alcohol level of the patient is determined by measuring the ethanol vapor emitted by the patient's eye. This vapor is not contaminated by any alcohol or vomit in the victim's mouth and can be sampled even when the victim is unconscious if the eye is kept open, for example with available sterile adhesive strips. There is therefore provided in accordance with the present invention a method of detecting ethanol in the lachrymal fluid of a subject as defined in claim 1. The chamber may be in form of an eyepiece having an impervious wall defining a chamber with lower and upper open ends, said lower open end having a substantially planar edge, said planar edge being relieved along a first arc of predetermined length to provide a cheek contour matching edge, and along a second arc to provide a nose contour matching edge. Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a general schematic view of a patient having blood alcohol level determined in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a general perspective view of an eyepiece in accordance with the present invention; Figure 3 is a block diagram of a circuit employed in the present invention; Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the circuit of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a diagram of illustrating the concentration of ethanol/time profile by gas chromatographic analysis of blood, and eye vapor analysis, respectively, in normal rats; Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the concentration of ethanol/time profile by gas chromatography analysis of blood, and eye vapor analysis, respectively, in ethanol-treated rats; Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating the concurrence between the ethanol concentration in blood and lachrymal fluid in three male Sprague-Dawley rats; Figure 8 is a diagram comparing the ethanol concentration/time in plasma (circles) and lachrymal fluid (squares) after ethanol administration to 4 New Zealand white rabbits; Figure 9 is a diagram of a standard curve illustrating the correlation between plasma concentration of ethanol and eye vapor response in millivolts with the basal millivolt response subtracted; Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating the ethanol concentration/time in plasma obtained by gas chromatography (circles) and by eye vapor analysis (squares) in 4 New Zealand white rabbits; Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between a 15 second millivolt response on the eye and blood ethanol when measured in accordance with the present invention; Figure 12 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between breath alcohol and blood ethanol employing a conventional breathalyser machine; Figure 13 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between blood ethanol level/time as measured by gas chromatography in the blood (circles) and in the breath as measured by breathalyser (squares); and Figure 14 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between blood ethanol level/time as measured by gas chromatography (circles) and in the eye vapor as measured by the method of the present invention. As illustrated in Figure 1 the method of the present invention provides a non-invasive passive technique for determining the alcohol level in the subject's body fluids through a determination of the alcohol in the eye vapor. The only important factor is that the eye of the subject be open. The eye vapor is not subject to contamination by mouth alcohol or by stomach gases due to regurgitation, as in the case with the breathalyser technique. It is also apparent that the method may be applied when the patient is unconscious or not capable of taking any objects into the mouth. As shown in Figure 2 an eyepiece 9 in the embodiment employed comprises a transparent plastic wall 10 having open upper and lower edges 11 and 12 defining openings. Around lower edge 12 a cushion 13 is provided. It will be observed that the lower edge 12 is relieved at substantially opposed sides 20 and 21 to conform with the adjacent cheek and nose surfaces with which it may come into contact. It will also be noted that this configuration permits use on either the right or left eye. It will also be observed from Figure 1 that a vapor sensor 15 is inserted through the upper opening 11 and held there so that it is spaced away from the adjacent eye surface. The spacing from the eye surface has been found to lead to a "cleaner" signal with less extraneous "noise". As illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 the circuit employed comprises a vapor sensor such as a type 812 Figaro gas sensor indicated at 15. The output of sensor 15 is connected through a pair of amplifiers 17 and 18 to an analog to digital converter 19, and the output of the converter is connected to a microprocessor 20 which is in turn connected to a digital display 21. It will of course be understood that sensor 15 is suitably calibrated prior to use. This may be provided by a reference sensor circuit depending upon the experimental conditions. While it is recognized that intact excretion of ethanol takes place through urine and in vapor form through the breath, it was postulated that since ethanol was distributed throughout the total body water, lachrymal fluid should also contain ethanol at the same concentration as the remaining body fluid and since, according to Henry's law the concentration of ethanol in the vapor phase is proportional to the concentration of ethanol in the liquid phase a determination of ethanol in the lachrymal eye vapor would give an indication of the alcohol concentration in the subject's body fluids. The invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following Examples and experiments. Example I Normal Rats - Eye Vapor Response Male, Sprague-Dawley rats, weight 288 ± 9 g, mean ± s.e.m. (standard error of measurement), were given ethanol, 1 g/kg, by gavage, as a 13% solution in water. Blood samples (0.05 ml) and eye vapor measurements were taken over four hours after ethanol administration. The results are illustrated in Figure 5. Ethanol Treated Rats These animals had been fed on an ethanol-containing liquid diet for 4 weeks for different experimental purposes in our laboratory and were withdrawn from ethanol 5 days before the study. The rats, weight 274 ± 12 g were given ethanol orally on the day of the study as above. Blood samples and eye vapor measurements were taken over three hours. The results are illustrated in Figure 6. Calculation of Blood Alcohol Concentration from Eye Vapor Response The millivolt response from the eye was compared with a standard curve obtained from aqueous ethanol solutions. The standard curve was obtained from a correlation of the log of the concentrations and the millivolt response measured above 1 ml solutions in 20 ml scintillation vials at 29.5°C. The concentrations obtained from this calculation were multiplied by 0.85 to account for the differences in water content between blood and pure water. Normal Rats - Lachrymal Fluid Male, Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 250-270 g were given ethanol as above. Blood samples (9.57 µl) were taken from the tail vein and added to saturated salt water (250 µl) in a head space vial. Lachrymal fluid samples (typically 3 µl) were obtained in a capillary tube (5 µl) while the animals were under ketane anesthesia (80 mg/kg, intramuscularly, plus 15 mg/kg as needed). The exact volumes of these samples were determined from the length of liquid in the capillary tubes. These samples were also added to saturated salt water in a head space vial. The samples were obtained from 1 to 4 hours after ethanol administration. Determination of Tail Vein Blood and Lachrymal Fluid Ethanol Concentrations Blood ethanol concentration was determined by head space gas chromatography by methods known in the art. Calculation of Metabolic Rates The rectilinear portions of the plasma ethanol concentration versus time profiles were identified from the individual plots. Least squares regression analyses yielded the intercepts on the abscissae which were divided by the dose to give ethanol metabolic rates in mg/kg/hr. The concentration versus time profiles are shown in Figures 5 and 6. It will be apparent that throughout the study periods, there is good agreement between the concentrations of ethanol obtained by gas chromatographic analysis of blood and by eye vapor analysis. As a consequence, the metabolic parameters obtained by the two methods for the groups of animals are also in good agreement. For the normal rats, the metabolic rates were calculated to be 241 ± 7 and 234 ± 9 (s.e.m.) mg/kg/hr by blood and eye vapor analysis, respectively. For the ethanol treated animals the comparable results were 318 ± 7 and 302 ± 13 mg/kg/hr. Using all of the individual data points, the correlation of blood ethanol concentrations obtained by the two methods yields: correlation coefficient = 0.92, slope = 0.99, intercept = 4.2 mg/dl, n = 61, range 0 - 98 mg/dl. The correlation of ethanol concentration in blood and lachrymal fluid are shown in Figure 7 where correlation coefficient = 0.99, slope = 1.18, 1/slope = 0.85, intercept = -5.0 mg/dl, n = 12. The ratio of ethanol concentrations in the two fluids is given by the slope of the correlation or the reciprocal of the slope. The reciprocal of the slope is the same as the ratio of the water contents of lachrymal fluid (approximately 100%) and blood (85% for humans). Example II Rabbits: first study Four, male, New Zealand White rabbits received ethanol (6 g/kg) by an intravenous bolus in a marginal ear vein. Heparinized blood samples (0.1 mL) were obtained from the opposite ear and centrifuged to yield plasma. Samples (0.01 mL) of lachrymal secretion were collected by micropipette from the lower conjunctival sac. The times of the samples as indicated in Figure 8 were taken over 5 hours. Analysis of ethanol in plasma and lachrymal fluid Ethanol concentrations were determined either by known injection gas chromatography or by head space gas chromatography techniques. Rabbits: second study Six, male, New Zealand White rabbits received ethanol (about 750 mg/kg, Table 1) by an intravenous bolus in a marginal ear vein. Blood samples and 30 second eye measurements were taken over 3.5 hours as indicated in Figure 10. Analysis of ethanol in vapor For the ethanol vapor determination eyepiece 9 was used to hold the sensor in position, the eyepiece had a volume of approximately 24 mL. For the measurements, the sensor was placed in the top of the eyepiece (leaving a volume of 23 mL.) and the bottom edge was placed around the eye of the rabbit. The sensor was activated for 30 seconds after which time the millivolt response was noted. Calculation of plasma concentrations from eye measurements The results of the first two rabbits studied were used to calculate plasma concentrations from ethanol eye vapor responses in the other four animals. The standard curve (Figure 9) was obtained by correlating points of the linear portion of the ethanol plasma concentration versus time curves with the coincident eye vapor responses that were measured in millivolts. This standard curve was then used for the other four rabbits to give estimated plasma concentrations from the eye measurements. A comparison of the actual plasma concentrations and estimated plasma concentrations is shown in Figure 10. Calculation of metabolic parameters The rectilinear portions of the plasma ethanol concentration versus time profiles were identified from the individual plots. Least squares regression analyses yielded the slopes of the lines and intercepts on the abscissae. The slopes gave the clearances of ethanol in mg/dL/h while the abscissae were divided by the doses to give ethanol metabolic rates in mg/Kg/h. These results are shown in Table 1 below. Example III Six alcoholic lever disease patients were given 0.5 g/Kg of ethanol intravenously over 45 minutes. The blood ethanol level, breath alcohol level and eye vapor alcohol level were determined. In the case of blood ethanol at hourly intervals and in the latter two cases at half-hourly intervals in the same manner as previously described in Examples I and II. The blood ethanol level was determined by gas chromatography; the breath alcohol level was determined using a breathalyser (A.L.E.R.T. model J3D manufactured by Alcohol Countermeasure Systems Corp). In the case of the eye vapor this was accomplished by holding the sensor eyepiece over the subject's open eye, with the eyepiece edges in contact with the subject's face for fifteen seconds and the fifteen second millivolt response was obtained. The results are shown in Figures 11, 12, 13 and 14. It will be observed that the correlation between the eye vapor results and the breathalyser results in these various experiments indicate that a more accurate result than the breath test and results which are statistically acceptable and comparable with gas chromatography can be obtained without the attendant awkwardness and difficulty.

Claims: A method of detecting ethanol in the lachrymal fluid of a subject comprising the steps of sampling vapors of lachrymal fluid exuded by the eye of said subject, and measuring the ethanol vapor content of said sampled lachrymal vapor. A method as in claim 1, but first carrying out the initial steps of enclosing the eye of the subject in a chamber to define a space above the eye, providing an ethanol vapor sensor (15) into the space of the chamber in a spaced relation to the eye; calibrating said sensor (15); and wherein the measurement of the ethanol vapor concentration of the lachrymal fluid exuded by the eye takes place in the space above said eye using said sensor. The method of claim 2, wherein said measuring step follows said enclosing step by a time sufficient for the concentration of alcohol in the vapors within said chamber to relate to the concentration of alcohol in the liquid lachrymal fluid of said eye in accordance with Henry's law. The method of any preceding claim wherein said eye is open. The method of claim 4, further comprising the initial step of restraining said eye in an open state. The method of any of claims 2 to 5, wherein said enclosing step includes the step of sealing an eyepiece (9) against the face of said subject. The method of any of claims 3 to 6 wherein said time is at least approximately fifteen seconds. The method of any of claims 6 or 7 wherein said eyepiece (9) has an open end (12) matchingly conformable with the adjacent face contour of said person in a manner that the eye of said person closes said open end (12). The method of claims 6 to 8, wherein said eyepiece is a tube having a second open end (11) and said chamber is further formed by closing said second open end with structure which includes said sensor (15). A method of any preceding claim for determining blood alcohol level of a person comprising the additional step of comparing said measured ethanol content with a reference to determine the blood alcohol level of said person.

Inventors: GILES, HOWEL GWYNNE, ISRAEL, YEDY
Applicants: ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG ADDICTION RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Application year: 1988
Main classification: A61B3
IPC codes: A61B5, A61B3