Intelligent Bio Solutions (INBS) secured a US patent to develop fingerprinting technology for drug screening. The Intelligent Fingerprinting Drug Screening Cartridge is the latest addition to the company’s drug screening technology, which detects drugs in fingerprint sweat.

Fingerprint Technology

The latest fingerprint technology claims to identify common drugs of abuse through sweat. The process is non-invasive and addresses a growing demand to ensure employee safety. INBS submitted the patent to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December and aims to hit the market this year.

According to the company, this new fingerprint technology advances the possibilities of portable testing for wider applications in additional fields. This system reportedly can detect drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine, cannabis, and opiates. It claims to gather the sample and give results in less than 10 minutes.

“The intellectual property landscape for lateral flow devices in the US is mature, making the grant of this patent a strong validation of our innovative technology,” said INBS CEO and president Harry Simeonidis.”

In addition, the company claims it offers cost savings, risk reduction, and the capability to screen anywhere at any time.

In November 2024, INBS did a comparison study for the proposed fingerprint technology, which involved nine system operators and 135 healthy donors. Astonishingly, the system reportedly demonstrated 100% specificity, 94% accuracy, and 82.2% sensitivity. Operators involved with the comparison study said that the device was easy to use, with no errors during the study.

The system includes a drug screening cartridge, reader, and fingerprint collection kit. Each component was assessed for its potential to identify and quantify drug use.

The company says the study shows its reliability, making it suitable for pre-employment and drug testing in the workplace.

According to the company, this patent is the sixth active one for INBS in the US.