A professor from The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) has invented a breath monitor that can detect the flu.
Gouma and her team relied on existing medical literature to determine the quantities of known biomarkers present in a person’s breath when afflicted with a particular disease, then applied that knowledge to find a combination of sensors for those biomarkers that is accurate for detecting the flu.
For instance, people who suffer from asthma have increased nitric oxide concentration in their breath, and acetone is a known biomarker for diabetes and metabolic processes. When combined with a nitric oxide and an ammonia sensor, Gouma found that the breath monitor may detect the flu virus, possibly as well as tests done in a doctor’s office.
“I think that technology like this is going to revolutionize personalized diagnostics. This will allow people to be proactive and catch illnesses early, and the technology can easily be used to detect other diseases, such as Ebola virus disease, simply by changing the sensors,” said Gouma, who also is the lead scientist in the Institute for Predictive Performance Measurement at the UTA Research Institute.
“Before we applied nanotechnology to create this device, the only way to detect biomarkers in a person’s breath was through very expensive, highly-technical equipment in a lab, operated by skilled personnel. Now, this technology could be used by ordinary people to quickly and accurately diagnose illness.”
Earlier detection could mean a shorter flu cycle.
Clinical trials still have to be done, but the hope is for the breathalyzer to eventually be available in drugstores, and to the public.
source: dfw.cbslocal.com
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