Breath Tests to Identify Disease?
Posted on August 24, 2005
USA Today reports on a product from Menssana Research called Breathscanner 1.0 that can test the breath of a heart transplant patient to see if heart transplant is being rejected.
Experts caution, however, that while breath tests are a promising diagnostic technique, it does not appear that they will completely replace trusted methods such as biopsies and CT scans.It would be terrific for patients if simpler tests that measure blood and breath, like this particular test, can be used to help reduce the number of invasive biopsies performed on patients suspected of having cancer.In the meantime, Phillips is looking to license a company to produce and market his Heartsbreath test to doctors and hospitals, since such a nationwide effort cannot be undertaken by his four-person firm.
Analyzing breath to diagnose disease is a concept that dates back two millennia, Phillips said, noting that ancient physicians found that a diabetic's breath smelled like rotten apples. And while a police Breathalyzer is designed to detect just one substance - alcohol - the acetone that causes diabetic breath is among the 200 compounds that the Heartsbreath technology can identify.
In addition, Phillips said, his technology can determine the levels of each compound, being about a billion times more sensitive than police machines.