US Patent 7096714 Volatile signature detector and associated methods

A detector (D) for detecting the volatile signature of one or more substances, e. g. alcohol and/or cannabis, on the breath (MG) of a consumer (P), using several sensors (CT1, CT2, CT3). The sensors can comprise semi-conductors or conductive polymers. The inventive detector is equipped with a filter (F) to remove nuisance substances, e. g. water vapour, which mask the signature. The detector is advantageously portable and can be used to perform a test to evaluate (E) the consumption of a substance by the driver of a motor vehicle in relation to a reference level (N). A network of formal neurones (RN) is used to generate a database (DB) that is used to calibrate the detector.