Health monitoring cat litter
Technology is disclosed for a cat litter that can be used to diagnose feline medical conditions. A cat litter contains an additive, e.g., a chemical agent, such as a natural and/or synthetic agent, that changes in color when it comes in contact with cat urine or feces. Based on the color it can be determined whether the cat has a medical condition, such as particular illness. For example, if the litter turns yellow when it comes in contact with the urine, it can indicate that the cat is healthy. If the litter turns to a color other than yellow, e.g., green, it can indicate that the cat has some illness. The cat then be taken to a veterinary doctor for further diagnosis. The chemical agent aids in detection and diagnosis through interaction of materials that change colors to indicate reactions with specific chemicals, cells, molecules, DNA and/or materials. The technology can be implemented for medical diagnosis and detection—for humans and/or animals.
1. A pet litter, comprising a plurality of health monitoring particles, each of the health monitoring particles consisting essentially of:
a porous base material; and
a plurality of additives applied via a spray coating to the porous base material, the plurality of additives including a first additive and a second additive are configured to cause a change in color of the pet litter when coming in contact with pet excreta, and wherein the change in color is indicative of the existence or non-existence of at least one medical condition in an associated pet, wherein the first additive is contained within pores of the porous base material and is configured to detect a pH level and the second additive is positioned on the exterior surface of the porous base material and is configured to react with a target analyte.
2. The pet litter of claim 1 wherein the plurality of additives include a first additive and a second additive, and wherein both of the first additive and the second additive changing in color indicates at least two medical conditions exist in the associated pet.
3. The pet litter of claim 1 , wherein the porous base material comprises amorphous silica.
4. The pet litter of claim 1 wherein the at least one medical condition includes at least one of illness and pregnancy.
5. The pet litter of claim 1 wherein the plurality of additives further includes a third additive forming a coating or membrane that encases the first and second additives and the porous base material.
6. The pet litter of claim 5 wherein the porous base material is substantially neutral in pH.
7. The pet litter of claim 1 wherein both the first and second additives are configured to react with the pet excreta.
8. The pet litter of claim 7 wherein:
the first additive includes color particles conjugated to a target analyte; and
the second additive includes an anti-target analyte configured to capture the conjugated color particle.
9. The pet litter of claim 8 wherein:
the medical condition includes pregnancy; and
the target analyte is Relaxin.
10. The pet litter of claim 9 wherein the color particles are colloidal gold nanoparticles.
11. The pet litter of claim 9 wherein the color particles are latex microspheres.
12. The pet litter of claim 1 wherein the plurality of additives are configured to turn into a first color indicating a first condition of the pet excreta.
13. The pet litter of claim 12 , wherein the first condition indicates an existence or non-existence of a set of constituents in the pet excreta that is observed in a healthy cat.
14. The pet litter of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of additives include chemical agents that cause the pet litter to turn into a second color indicating a second condition of the pet excreta.
15. The pet litter of claim 14 , wherein the second condition indicates an existence or non-existence of a set of constituents in the pet excreta that is observed in a pet that is having an illness.
16. A method of fabricating the pet litter of claim 1 , comprising:
spray coating the porous base material with a plurality of additives.
17. A pet litter comprising:
a porous base material; and
a plurality of reactive dyes that are applied via a spray coating technique and are positioned both on and within the porous base material, wherein a first reactive dye is contained within pores of the porous base material and a second reactive dye is applied as a membrane on an exterior of the porous base material, and wherein the first reactive dye causes a first change in color of the pet litter when contacting with pet urine including constituents indicative of a first medical condition and the second reactive dye causes a second change in color of the pet litter when contacting with pet fecal matter including constituents indicative of a second medical condition.
18. The pet litter of claim 17 wherein the porous base material comprises amorphous silica.
19. The pet litter of claim 17 ,
the first reactive dye includes color particles conjugated to a target analyte; and
the second reactive dye includes an anti-target analyte configured to capture the conjugated color particle.