Diagnosing a disease can be as simple a procedure as breathing in a handheld device. Even ancient doctors used to analyze their patient’s breath in order to detect the type of disease. The researchers have invented a new system that can detect the presence of a certain illness just by an analysis of the patient’s breath.
They claim this device can detect even 17 serious diseases, including kidney disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, some cancers, and many other conditions.
According to a study published in the journal ACS Nano, this device called Na-Nose is compared to a breathalyzer and can determine the type of disease with 86% accuracy.
It uses nano-rays to determine the chemical composition of a person’s breath. Certain disease emits specific organic compounds characteristic of that condition. So, all of the 17 conditions release specific compounds, each with its own pattern.
What makes a distinction between diseases is the unique ‘breath signature’ that every disease has.
The Na-Nose
The Na-Nose device was tested on 1,400 people from various countries and it was able to detect the disease 9 out of 10 times accurately. Also, it could not only detect the presence of one disease’s breath print but an additional one if it was present.
The leading researcher Hossam Haick from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in a YouTube video explained that this device imitates a human’s or dog’s sense of smell in order to analyze the patient’s breath. Based on this analysis, it can determine whether the patient is healthy or experiences a certain disease. It can also predict the risk of certain diseases in the near future.
One of the main benefits of this device is the early detection of some diseases. This will bring about a greater chance of survival for people who suffer from serious diseases. Haick points out that Na-Nose’s ability for early detection can increase the survival rates from 10 to 70%.
Other benefits of such technology are low-cost, easy use, and immediate results.
Breath As a Diagnostic Device
Hatch states that breath is an excellent material for the diagnosis of many illnesses. Also, this procedure involves a noninvasive, pleasant, and safe type of taking samples.
However, this idea is not completely new. The researchers have worked on such tests for cystic fibrosis and tuberculosis in the last decade. In the case of cystic fibrosis, the body produces four times more acetic acid than a healthy organism.
Until now, this device has been used on thousands of patients, and very soon it will be available on the market.
To conclude, this device has the ability to feel what people can’t feel.
Via Live Science