Patent ID: 8096199

Claim:
A method of sampling a volatilisable substance from a region of a body surface which comprises: bringing a probe into contact with the body surface, the probe comprising: a supply tube in fluid communication with a pressurised gas supply and having an outlet, a recovery tube in communication with a collector and having an inlet adjacent to said supply tube outlet, and either (1) a skirt of varied depth that extends beneath and surrounds the recovery tube inlet, the skirt also extending beneath and surrounding the supply tube outlet, or (2) the supply tube including a skirt portion of varied depth that extends beneath and surrounds the recovery tube inlet; directing under pressure a gas through the supply tube outlet onto said surface of the body, thereby volatilizing substances on the body surface, and recovering a fraction of the gas through the recovery tube inlet, the varied depth of the skirt or skirt portion allowing the remainder of the gas to flow outwardly beneath the skirt or skirt portion.