Breathalyzer Device Reveals Signs of Disease
Posted on May 8, 2012
A device called the Single Breath Disease Diagnostics Breathalyzer can reveal whether or not you have some diseases with one breath. The National Science Foundation (NSF) says in a release that the device uses ceramics nanotechnology. The device, developed by Professor Perena Gouma and her team at Stony Brook University, tests for biomarkers for certain diseases. It is coated with tiny nanowires that look like microscopic spaghetti and are able to detect minute amounts of chemical compounds in the breath.
You blow into a small valve attached to a box that is about half the size of your typical shoebox and weighs less than one pound. Once you blow into it, the lights on top of the box will give you an instant readout. A green light means you pass (and your bad breath is not indicative of an underlying disease; perhaps it's just a result of the raw onions you ingested recently); however, a red light means you might need to take a trip to the doctor's office to check if something more serious is an issue.Gouma says, "There can be different types of nanowires, each with a tailored arrangement of metal and oxygen atoms along their configuration, so as to capture a particular compound. For example, some nanowires might be able to capture ammonia molecules, while others capture just acetone and others just the nitric oxide. Each of these biomarkers signal a specific disease or metabolic malfunction so a distinct diagnostic breathalyzer can be designed."
The device is still being evaluated in clinical trials, but the NSF says within a couple of year you may be able to buy a device like this at the drug store for about $20 and self-evaluate yourself to see if you a disease, such as diabetes or lung cancer. Gouma also says the device can be rigged to detect infectious viruses and microbes like Salmonella, E. coli or anthrax. Take a look: