This breathalyzer reveals signs of disease -- Science Nation

 

This breathalyzer reveals signs of disease -- Science Nation This breathalyzer reveals signs of disease This invention could give new meaning to the term "bad breath!" It's the Single Breath Disease Diagnostics Breathalyzer, and when you blow into it, you get tested for a biomarker--a sign of disease. As amazing as that sounds, the process is actually very simple, thanks to ceramics nanotechnology. All it takes is a single exhale. You can't buy it in the stores just yet-- individual tests such as an acetone-detecting breathalyzer for monitoring diabetes and an ammonia-detecting breathalyzer to determine when to end a home-based hemodialysis treatment are still being evaluated clinically. However, researchers envision developing the technology such that a number of these tests can be performed with a single device. Credit: National Science Foundation