EP-4740854-A1 - APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SOBRIETY TEST

EP4740854A1EP 4740854 A1EP4740854 A1EP 4740854A1EP-4740854-A1

Abstract

Disclosed is an apparatus and method for a sobriety test. An apparatus for detecting an ethanol component in blood, according to at least one of various embodiments of the present disclosure, may comprise: a first sensor configured to emit a plurality of rays of light having different wavelengths to blood vessels of a target user; a light-receiving unit for receiving the light emitted by the first sensor to the blood vessels; and a processor for obtaining first data obtained by emitting light of a first wavelength and second data obtained by emitting light of a second wavelength, correcting the second data on the basis of the first data, and detecting ethanol component data in blood on the basis of the corrected second data.

Inventors

RHEE, BYUNGJOON

Assignees

LG Electronics Inc.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20230707

Claims (15)

An apparatus for detecting an ethanol component in blood, comprising: a first sensor configured to irradiate a plurality of lights having different wavelengths respectively onto a blood vessel of a target user; a light receiving unit configured to receive the lights respectively irradiated onto the blood vessel by the first sensor; and a processor configured to acquire first data corresponding to irradiation of a first wavelength of light and second data corresponding to irradiation of a second wavelength of light, to correct the second data based on the first data, and to detect ethanol component data in the blood based on the corrected second data.
The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second sensor configured to optically modulate each wavelength of light irradiated onto the blood vessel.
The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first sensor is an optical sensor, the optical sensor includes an infrared (IR) sensor, and the IR sensor includes a near-infrared (NIR) sensor.
The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second sensor includes an ultrasonic sensor.
The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second sensor operates in a manner that indirectly modulates a signal using a refractive index of a substance.
The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to acquire a first waveform corresponding to each light source of the first sensor and a second waveform modulated according to a refractive index variation caused by a medium fluctuation at a focusing point of the second sensor in the blood, and to merge the second waveform as a sideband with the first waveform.
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first sensor irradiates, onto the blood vessel, light of a first wavelength that transmits water and ethanol in the blood but is absorbed and reflected by non-aqueous tissue components of the blood.
The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the first sensor irradiates, onto the blood vessel, light of a second wavelength that transmits water in the blood but is reflected by ethanol and non-aqueous tissue components of the blood.
The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the first data includes influence measurement data of non-aqueous tissue components of the blood resulting from irradiation of the first wavelength of light onto the blood vessel.
The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the second data includes influence measurement data of ethanol and non-aqueous tissue components of the blood.
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light of the first wavelength is infrared light that transmits water and ethanol in the blood but is absorbed and reflected by non-aqueous tissue components of the blood.
The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the light of the first wavelength has a wavelength range of 700 nm to 950 nm.
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light of the second wavelength is infrared light that transmits water in the blood but is reflected by ethanol and non-aqueous tissue components of the blood.
The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the light of the second wavelength has a wavelength range of 1100 nm to 1300 nm.
A method for detecting an ethanol component in blood using light in an electronic device, comprising: irradiating a plurality of lights having different wavelengths respectively onto the blood; acquiring first data corresponding to irradiation of a first wavelength of light and second data corresponding to irradiation of a second wavelength of light; correcting the acquired second data based on the acquired first data; and detecting ethanol component data in the blood based on the corrected second data.

Description

[Technical Field] The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for drinking. [Background Art] Various incidents and accidents caused by drinking continue to occur. Despite these incidents and accidents, most laws and common sense emphasize appropriate measures and countermeasures for drinking, rather than prohibiting drinking itself. Most existing systems for measuring alcohol intake have adopted a method of analyzing alcohol (i.e., ethanol) in breath to determine whether a person is intoxicated. These methods for measuring alcohol intake include semiconductor, electrochemical, and infrared (IR) methods. Semiconductor methods measure alcohol intake by measuring the amount of electricity generated when alcohol components collide with a heated semiconductor, thereby analyzing alcohol temperature. While semiconductor methods offer the advantages of being inexpensive and portable, they suffer from low accuracy. The most commonly used electrochemical method measures alcohol concentration by measuring the amount of current generated when an alcohol component contacts a platinum anode. This method offers excellent accuracy and allows for vacations, and is currently used by police and others. However, it is sensitive to external temperature and operates only within a certain temperature range. Furthermore, it is not as inexpensive as semiconductor methods. Furthermore, the IR method measures alcohol concentration by measuring the amount of infrared radiation absorbed by alcohol. It offers excellent accuracy and is less sensitive to external influences, making it widely used for research. However, it is relatively expensive and difficult to transport. The traditional sobriety measurement devices mentioned above have limitations in their use by multiple people, and without coercive means, measurements cannot be taken without the subject's cooperation. In addition, for example, in the case of the traditional electrochemical method, the subject directly contacts the measuring device and measures alcohol from the exhaled breath. However, there was a problem that it was difficult to obtain cooperation in the measurement due to the negative perception of the subject due to concerns about infection with COVID-19, etc. To solve the problems of the above traditional method, a method of measuring alcohol consumption by contacting the sensor with the human breath was researched and developed. However, this method also had the problem of requiring the subject's cooperation and taking a relatively long measurement time. [Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Problem] The present disclosure provides a one-touch alcohol measurement method and device using an optical method. [Technical Solution] A device for detecting ethanol content in blood, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, may include: a first sensor that irradiates a plurality of lights with different wavelengths to blood vessels of a target user; a light receiving unit that receives the light irradiated to the blood vessels by the first sensor; and a processor that acquires first data based on the irradiation of light of the first wavelength and second data based on the irradiation of light of the second wavelength, corrects the second data based on the first data, and detects ethanol content data in blood based on the corrected second data. According to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the device may further include: a second sensor that optically modulates light of each wavelength irradiated to the blood vessels. According to at least one embodiment of the various embodiments of the present disclosure, the first sensor may be an optical sensor, the optical sensor may include an IR sensor, and the IR sensor may include an NIR sensor. According to at least one embodiment of the various embodiments of the present disclosure, the second sensor may include an ultrasonic sensor. According to at least one embodiment of the various embodiments of the present disclosure, the second sensor may use a method of indirectly modulating a signal using a refractive index of a material. According to at least one embodiment of the various embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor may obtain a first waveform by each light source of the first sensor and a second waveform modulated by a refractive index change due to a medium change occurring at a focusing point of the second sensor in the blood, and fuse the second waveform to the first waveform as a sideband. According to at least one embodiment of the various embodiments of the present disclosure, the first sensor may irradiate a blood vessel with light of a first wavelength, which transmits water and ethanol in the blood and has a wavelength that absorbs and reflects non-water components of the blood tissue component. According to at least one embodiment of the various embodiments of the present disclosure, the first sensor may irradiate a blood vessel with l